White River Junction, VT – Zachary David Stanley, 32, or to his loved ones, Zach, Uncle Snack, Boomer, Cheeseball, died unexpectedly, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Worcester, MA. Zach continually worked to find himself through addiction to come back to those he loved with his whole heart.

Zach was born August 19, 1991, in Hartford, CT, a son of Mark and PennyJo (Seaver) Stanley. He grew up in White River Junction where he attended Hartford High School. After high school, he studied underwater welding at Northland Job Corps Center in Vergennes, VT. Zach worked as a cook at several area restaurants, including Weathervane Seafood in West Lebanon. He also worked as an installer with Bill King Flooring and Smith Flooring.

Zach spent the past few years in Massachusetts, seeking new treatment options. He was most recently in Worcester, where he was doing so well that the owner of the sober home was paying Zach to watch his dog. This is a testament to his ability to win people over with his kindness, sincerity, and certainly his sense of humor.

Zach dreamed of being able to help others through addiction-he was always talking about finding a way to personalize addiction treatment to meet people where they are at. He would have given anyone the shirt off his back, or at the very least a listening ear. Please consider using some of his kindness to help his family in this time, as I know he would if he were able.

This is unfortunately not the first tragic loss in Zach's family, and they could really use the community's love, support, and assistance in covering the costs to help make sure Zach lays to rest with the peace and love he deserved in his life, that unfortunately he could not find in time. Grieving is hard enough without also having to worry about honoring a loved one's life and wishes.

Zach had a great sense of humor, a constant goofball. He had a wonderful way of easing the tension by cracking a joke. He loved the outdoors, especially fishing, camping and four wheeling. Zach was passionate about food and loved to make meals for those he cared about and true to his comedic nature there were many weird food mixtures that did not work.

Zach is preceded in death by a brother, Ryan Stanley, and sister, Leara King. He is survived by a daughter, Hailey Stanley; mother, PennyJo Seaver; father, Mark Stanley; brother, Marc Stanley; and two sisters, Briana Smith and her husband, Cody, Maya King and many nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Junction, VT, from 5-7pm. Condolences may be expressed to Zach's family in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com.