Zachary Ray “Zach” Haley battled Ewing sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, since 2012, but he never let the disease rob him of his joy of the Lord or his purpose in life, friends and family said.

Haley, 21, of Rockfield, died Friday. A celebration of his life was set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at J.C. Kirby and Son, Lovers Lane chapel..

After graduating from Warren Central High School in 2014, Haley enrolled at Western Kentucky University with a goal to be an agriculture teacher, according to his older brother, Tyler Burysek.

“He was very passionate about agriculture; he wanted to teach others,” he said.

School organizations raised thousands of dollars for his medical and travel expenses at WCHS through “penny wars” and selling “Zach attack” bracelets and T-shirts. More than 200 people participated in the Frozen 4, a 4-mile run organized by Trax Running to benefit Haley. Haley attended the 2014 WCHS graduation. At that time, the cancer was in remission.

Burysek, 27, said when Haley first received word about his cancer diagnosis his younger brother told him, “God’s got this.”

Haley’s later years saw the cancer flare up again and then hit another remission stage.

Burysek recalled how the brothers used to fight now and then, but by the time Haley turned 18, Burysek realized his younger brother was larger than he was and fighting would be pointless.

“He was bigger than me,” Burysek said with a laugh.

The older brother said Haley was a happy child from birth and that demeanor lifted the spirits of others.

When Haley accepted his Lord Jesus at age 12 on April 29, 2007, and received his salvation, Burysek said Haley “came into his own.”

They both attended Unity Missionary Baptist Church in Bowling Green, and Haley served as Sunday school superintendent for a couple of terms.

“We have been praying for him,” Burysek said of the church’s and the family’s efforts during the cancer battle.

Haley’s death has brought some comfort to the family.

“It would be difficult if we didn’t know that he is in a better place, no longer struggling to breathe. He has a whole new body,” the brother said.

Burysek said the message his brother would want people to understand in the wake of his death, his legacy if you will, is the importance of Christian salvation.

“Our purpose is not our own. God wants us to keep on going. If you don’t have salvation, you don’t have anything.”

Even when battling cancer, Haley didn’t want other people to look down on life and professed his Christian testimony to others, friends and family said.

“He lived it,” Burysek said of Haley’s faith.

A longtime friend, Adam Nash, 20, and Elizabeth Grovers, adviser of the Student Fellowship of Old Time Baptists – a college campus group Haley attended – agreed that Haley never dwelt on his illness.

“He was a wonderful, wonderful young man,” Groves said. “He was very thoughtful and made everybody laugh. He was a great singer.”

The group, first organized in 1995 at WKU, held a weekly Bible study on Thursdays and also participated in gospel songs.

“It keeps each other lifted up,” Nash said.

Nash, a senior at WKU due to graduate in December 2017 who knew Haley for about five years, said Haley was “very humble” when fundraisers or other awareness campaigns about his illness were conducted.

Nash said he saw Haley just before he died and the young man was undeterred about the cancer.

“He always looked to God. He said he didn’t plan to die anytime soon. He said, ‘never quit fighting.’ ”

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