Granite State Values April 2014 | Page 11

Zach Sobiech May 3, 1995-May 20, 2013 Zach Sobiech, 18-year-old teen from Stillwater, Minn., was never far from his friends, and his guitar. Upon his diagnosis of terminal cancer in May 2012, Zach turned to music in a big way - writing and performing songs as a way to say goodbye, at first to his friends and family, and then to the world when millions who became affected by Zach’s heartfelt lyrics and irresistible positivity in the face of adversity. When Zach passed away on May 20, 2013, his fans pushed ’Clouds’ up to #1 on iTunes, Spotify and the Billboard charts – a fitting tribute to a remarkable young man. “I want to be remembered as a kid who went down fighting, and didn’t really lose.” Zach bravely battled osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, with which he was diagnosed at age 14. As the disease progressed, doctors had no more effective treatment options to offer him a cure. Still, Zach decided to live like he always had, with a smile on his face, embracing every day with hope and joy. He inspired the lives of millions of people in the last 3 months of his life to live happy, to live for others and most importantly to live for today!