At her first hair cut, a very nervous Alexis Vierneisel remembered the words of her uncle.

“He told me to be brave and to never be afraid — and that he was doing the best that he could,” said Alexis.

The 6-year-old Bartlett resident recently donated her hair to Locks of Love in the name of her uncle, who died of a rare bone cancer when he was only 21.

Bryan Paynter, a senior at Northwestern University, died in February from Ewing’s Sarcoma. The bone cancer, common in young males, developed in his left arm.

“His arm was hurting, but he thought it was an old volleyball injury,” said Kim Vierneisel, Alexis’ mother and Paynter’s sister-in-law.

Paynter, an engineering and economics major, pledged a fraternity and played club volleyball at Northwestern.

“In the past six years I knew him, he did more in his life than I’ll probably ever do,” Vierneisel said. “He had a smile to light up a room and didn’t want to be remembered as the poster child for cancer.”

When Paynter was diagnosed, Vierneisel said she tried to explain the disease to her daughter, who was only 4 at the time.

“All she said was ‘I want to make Uncle Bryan a wig,’” Vierneisel said. “All Alexis saw was he was sick and lost his hair so she thought that if she cut her hair she could replace what he lost.”

At the time, Alexis did not have hair long enough for Locks of Love. When it was finally long enough, Paynter promised to accompany Alexis to her hair appointment on his 22nd birthday, June 14. But Alexis would eventually take a seat in a salon chair without her uncle by her side.

Although he missed her hair appointment, there was one event for which Paynter was determined to live.

Paynter and his fiancée, Jenny, had planned a large wedding in March. Days before Christmas, Paynter had his arm amputated, yet the cancer continued to spread to his lungs. Given the new prognosis, the wedding date was moved up to Feb. 9.

“At that time with short notice, Bryan and Jennifer, with their college T-shirts on decided to exchange weddings vows bedside with their family present,” Vierneisel said.
Paynter died two days later.

To remember him, his family is planning a fundraiser to benefit Ewing’s Sarcoma research on Sunday at Brunswick Zone, 824 E. Rand Road in Mount Prospect.
Alexis’ family celebrated her donation at her appointment on Friday.

“It was her idea to do it, but I think he set an example of ‘don’t give up,’” Kim Vierneisel said. “Even though he’s not here anymore, he can still teach her lessons.”