Zachi Telesha was a go-getter.

When he wanted to become an author, he wrote a comic book. When he wanted to catch fish in the pond at Cabela’s, he got the job done. And when he wanted to have a half-birthday party, he stayed alive just long enough to make it happen.

Zachi was only 12. Yet before he died Monday after a nearly five-year battle with cancer, he used his positivity and initiative to become a role model, hero and inspiration for students and teachers alike at Allentown’s Trexler Middle School.

“What he left us was more of a legacy than probably the richest man in Allentown,” said John Annoni, Zachi’s sixth-grade science teacher.

In August 2008, Zachi found out he had osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that begins in bones and spread through the body. As he battled his illness over the next 41/2 years, Zachi set a series of goals he wanted to accomplish.

The one he’s most known for is his “Hero Up!” comic book, which he wrote during fifth grade through a partnership with Rodale. The book focuses on four superheroes, including their 12-year-old leader, Venom-Transporter, a character based on Zachi.

“He can, like, get bit by a black widow [spider] and it will only make him stronger,” Zachi said in a recently published YouTube video. “He can get bit by the most poisonous snake and spider at the same time repeatedly and still just get stronger.”

A copy of the published book is in each of the Allentown School District’s libraries.

Zachi’s success showed other students that they can accomplish big dreams, Annoni said. And his sincerity made him a favorite among other students.

There are rumblings that Zachi enlisted help to write a sequel and the “Hero Up!” franchise won’t stop at one book. Since his death, students have been wearing “Z” T-shirts and hanging posters in Zachi’s Hero Hallway, the hall named in his honor.

Teachers like Annoni were just as drawn to Zachi.

When Zachi became too sick to go to school, Annoni went to his home to check another goal off the list — a turkey hunt. Annoni helped hold the Nerf gun steady while Zachi shot through his window at a turkey decoy.

Annoni visited with the family again after Zachi died.

“They are tremendously proud of what he’s overcome, tremendously proud of what he’s accomplished and tremendously proud that he bears their name,” Annoni said.

And Annoni is grateful that he was able to both teach and learn from his former student.

“It’s a shame that this child didn’t get to spend more time in our hallways,” Annoni said. “Wherever he is, and whatever he is doing, I can tell you what: He’s making somebody better.”

adam.clark@mcall.com

610-820-6168

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