Zach, as he was called, enriched the lives of many in, and around, Victoria, Tx, where he was born, lived, and passed away. His was a life characterized by the selfless, unconditional love and service he offered freely, and it shall be memorialized eternally in the hearts of those who prospered in his light.

Zach is survived by his loving mother, Suzanne Banda (Carlos Sauceda); sister, Brianna Taylor Banda (Mitchell Montanye), sister, Jillian Nicole Banda-Garcia (Carlos Garcia); grandmother, Mary Julia Villafranca, and fiancé, Sabrina Trejo and her children, Lorelei and Elias Trejo. He has several aunts and uncles who loved him dearly. This includes Roland and Tammie Villafranca (God Parents), Leticia Villafranca, Lisa Saenz, Ervey and Teresa Banda, Bobby and Melissa Banda. He is also survived by numerous cousins. Zach was a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews, Elliana, Noah and Addalyn Garcia and one niece on the way, Gianna. Loving family that passed before Zach include his father, Samuel Banda; maternal grandfather, Arnold “Nayo” Villafranca; paternal grandparents, Roberto and Olga Navarro Banda; aunt, Delilah Banda; cousins, John Michael Banda and Michael Navarro.

Zach’s life was one of many stories, and even more examples to follow. The perseverance with which he pursued his dreams was an inspiration to those who knew him. At only sixteen years old, Zach lost his father; a man Zach looked up to, adored, and loved. Samuel Banda had passed away believing that Zach’s football team at Cuero High had the makings of a championship team. Zach was determined to make good on his father’s faith in him, but the following season was marked by further hardship when he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and forced to sit out. Zach’s senior season was met with further hardship when, only weeks underway, he suffered a lower leg fracture. Unable to sit idly by while his brothers toiled, Zach took to drinking special bone broth cocktails several times a day to expedite his healing. Weeks later Zach was back on the field with his team and together they reached the Texas High School Class 4A, Division II state championship game against opponent Pleasant Grove at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Zach, with his father’s jersey number on his chest, gave his all in Cuero’s 40-28 victory on one football’s biggest stages and brought home a trophy not seen by his team since 1987. Zach was proud but he didn’t do it for himself. He did it for his brothers, his family, his town, and for his father, Sam, whose eyes he felt and whose pride he had regardless. The prize ring Zach had fought for was less a statement and more an acknowledgement for the way he lived. He had always been a champion.

Very few people are unselfish enough to face distant dangers that were altogether unintended for them. Very few people are faced with a hero’s call, and fewer still, answer. That call found Zach’s heart from an early age and he embraced it. He played with plastic fire engines, rescued candy from doorsteps as a firefighter on Halloween, and flattened his hair under his father’s fire helmet-a helmet he knew he’d grow into. Not long after Sam’s passing, Zach stepped up to take his father’s place in the Nursery Volunteer Fire Department. At only sixteen, he would have to wait two years before he could become a member. Undeterred, he seized the opportunity to attend every meeting and training and at eighteen, he was voted in. Little else fulfilled him the way firefighting did. Donning his father’s number, Zach proudly served his community, until his passing, as Nursery 228.

Zach went on to complete Victoria College’s EMT program but in the time that followed, God pointed him elsewhere. He accepted an apprenticeship at DOW Chemical, eventually becoming a board-certified operator. Forever stirred with a passion for service, Zach was able to expand his emergency and first responder knowledge as a DOW employee. Through his job, he became a certified ERT member for rescue and for industrial and interior firefighting. At the time of his passing, he was working towards a lead fire squad position as well as an EMT certification. Zach’s five-year tenure with DOW was as rewarding for the camaraderie it brought as it was for the skills he learned there.

As storied as his life was for as brief as it had been, no one cherished him for what he had done, but for who he was. His strength was for supporting. His heart was for loving. His smile was for sharing. His hands were for helping.

Zach was a man who gave everything for his family and neighbors, keeping little for himself besides goodwill and good company-things that others wouldn’t let him refuse. His final moments were in keeping with his nature as he put himself between danger and the woman he loved in the car accident that claimed his life. So profusely did he gift his time, effort, and body that for all who knew Zach-whether from birth or in passing-it’s known that he wouldn’t have allowed any other to bear the brunt of this tragedy.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Zach was a faithful servant of God and as one of his friends said, “that wasn’t just a verse to him, it was a way of living.” His propensity for sacrifice never once outpaced his humility. Arrogance and lust for recognition are the pitfalls of many great men who have offered, and have much to offer yet, to their fellow man. The quiet with which Zach carried himself suggested that such forces never tempted him in the least. Simply, as that friend also put, he had “a servant’s heart.” Many of us look to God and study the bible for guidance, as Zach did, but very few of us embody the principles of Christ, and he did so with ease.

Zach’s viewing will be held on May 1, 2026 from 9AM to 3PM at Grace Funeral Home, 2401 Houston Hwy., in Victoria, Tx and then 5PM-7PM at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church with a rosary to follow from 7PM to 7:30PM and stories of Zachary until 9PM. Services will be held May 2, 2026 at 9AM at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. In honor of Zach, Hawaiian shirts are encouraged, but optional, for Friday’s viewing and rosary.

If you would like to donate, please use the following link:  A Firefighters Final Act of Selfless Service GiveSendGohttps://v2.givesendgo.com/a-firefighters-final-act-of-selfless-ser. Proceeds will go directly to funeral related expenses.

To whomever may suffer from this most tremendous loss: mourn as you must but do not linger in sadness and please consider your pity. For all of us who yearn to truly live, love and be loved, and find peace, Zach was already there. He climbed mountains and their peaks, pitched tents under the open sky, vanquished fires, laughed among friends, bought expensive toys that never collected dust, was surrounded by family, was an enemy to none, and found love. The woman whose life he saved with his final seconds was a mother to two young children. Had Zach survived, and no one told them otherwise, those kids wouldn’t have known another or better father for he would’ve loved them as his own. Though perhaps only in practice and for only a few months, Zach knew what it was to be a husband and a father and, in the time prior to his passing, he had everything. Although too short, he had lived a lifetime.