Joe Hall, a 2011 St. Thomas graduate, died Friday, March 27 after a four-year battle with cancer.

Two days after he graduated, Hall was diagnosed with stage four desmoplastic small round cell cancer. Julia Mancuso, a close friend of Hall, said he was a humble man and a very faithful Catholic.

“He kept his strength through four years of suffering, and he just really accepted it,” Mancuso said.

Hall served as a National Evangelization Teams (NET) Ministries member six years ago and was a youth group leader until his illness prevented him from continuing. Still, he met with the replacement leaders every week to discuss the group and its members.

“He affected so many people. He was a member of NET Ministries. He was a very involved member of the community, so he’s touched so many lives,” Mancuso said. “I know he lived a short but very life-giving and fruitful life.”

Faith has kept Hall’s family going through this difficult time, Mancuso said.

“The family has been so strong throughout the whole thing,” Mancuso said. “They were able to find joy in the suffering, no matter how deep it actually went. They really as a family were very strong, grateful people that recognized the Lord’s hand in (the situation).”

Mancuso said Hall is an inspiration.

“His struggle is on a larger scale of what we do every day. The fact that he did that every single day and was able to keep such hope is great inspiration for us to continue to fight through the battle of daily life,” Mancuso said.