Some things never change. For Ryan Gloyer of Zelienople, those things included an “all-in” way of living life, a desire to be the best, and a deep fascination with the military and its history and artifacts.

As a child those fascinations were put on display nearly every day by a vivid imagination, Gloyer’s father, Richard, remembers. Ryan and his older brother, Matthew, could often be found playing Army in the tall grass behind the family’s Seven Fields home. Ryan, ever the performer, was the one dressed up in military regalia.

That fantasy — becoming a soldier and a student of military history — is one that Ryan Gloyer would ultimately live out in real life. But Gloyer’s “dream job” — his father’s words — was cut tragically short last week.

Gloyer, 34 years old and a sergeant first class in his U.S. Army Green Beret special forces unit, was killed last Thursday while fighting enemy forces in Kunduz, Afghanistan, along with his team leader, Capt. Andrew D. Byers, according to information released by the Department of Defense.

Richard Gloyer said his son would be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, though the family does not yet know when the ceremony will take place. As the family’s planning continues, Gloyer’s father said they want to hold Ryan up as an example to anyone dreaming big about their future.

“What we want to do with Ryan’s passing is celebrate his life,” Gloyer said. “The way he approached his journey ... he was steadfast in his goal. He’s a role model to anyone who wants to achieve their dream job.”

That dream — becoming “the best of the best,” and joining the ranks of special forces in the U.S. Army — came as a shock to Richard Gloyer. After graduating from Seneca Valley High School in 2000, Ryan told his father that he was considering signing up for the Army.

Richard Gloyer called it a “wow” moment. His son had been a seemingly tireless student at Seneca Valley, pouring his efforts into schoolwork, theater, sports and extracurricular activities. Ryan had always had a vivid imagination and a fascination with military history and tactics, but Richard Gloyer — who served as an officer in the U.S. Navy before being honorably discharged in 1970 — was still shocked to his core. He wanted his son to build off what he saw as an exemplary high school career.

Linda Andreassi, the school district’s spokesman, called Ryan a “very involved young man — and very well-known; well liked,” during his time at Seneca Valley. In addition to running track in high school, Gloyer played three years as the goalie of the district’s boys soccer team, lettering each year and serving as the squad’s captain during his senior year.

George Williams, the district’s soccer coach, said he remembers Ryan for his curly hair and a normally quiet demeanor that transformed radically on the field, where Gloyer wore a “loud” goalkeepers shirt and became one of the most animated players on the team.

“He just had a great approach to the game and life,” Williams said. “You could see him pouring everything he had into it.”

Gloyer also performed in the district’s all-school musical production his junior and senior years at Seneca Valley, serving as a member of the dance troupe for productions of “Li’l Abner” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” A love of dancing was something Gloyer brought to his senior project — teaching people how to break dance — as well.

Mary Beth Keally of Cranberry, who first met Ryan in middle school, called Gloyer someone who never gravitated toward one social group or another during his years at Seneca Valley. Genuine and fun-loving, Gloyer was just generally well-liked by everyone, she said.

“He was just an amazing, genuine person who was passionate with anything he did,” Keally said. “He never just (did something). He always wanted to do amazing things, and he did.”

Ryan ultimately did take his father’s advice, attending Thiel College in Greenville and graduating magna cum laude in 2004 with degrees in psychology and elementary education. In those years, Richard Gloyer said, he saw his son blossoming as an educator and scholar who reveled in time spent as a student teacher at Greenville Elementary School, where he taught a class of 4th graders.

“He was unbelievable,” Gloyer said. “I thought he was going to be a teacher.”

But one thing had remained unchanged through Ryan’s years at Thiel: he still aspired to be among the military’s elite soldiers. So at dinner on the night of his graduation Ryan made an announcement: no more waiting, he had enlisted in the U.S. Army through a deferment program that would allow him to finish earning his teaching certificate.

Gloyer said his son’s decision to enlist came as another “shocking moment,” to him, but as time passed and Ryan — who officially enlisted on Dec. 28, 2004 — graduated from boot camp, jump school and then Ranger school, he saw why his son’s sights had been set on military service.

“I could see he was happy doing what he wanted to do, and I just embraced it,” Gloyer said.

In September of 2014 Ryan Gloyer, now a decorated combat veteran who had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, in 2007 and 2009, as part of the 82nd Airborne, graduated from Army Special Forces Q-Course and became a Green Beret. His numerous awards include a Bronze Star with Valor, a second Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, two Meritorious Service Medals and two Army Commendation Medals, according to the Army.

Gloyer called Ryan’s graduation a moment of “immense pride” made that much sweeter for father and son because of the adversity Ryan had endured along the way. It took Ryan three tries to pass Q-Course, which is legendary for its punishing mental and physical training regimes. At one point the young Gloyer had to be pulled from the program by Army brass after he suffered an injury but refused to quit.

During a 12-year career in the Army, Ryan managed to synthesize his own personality — fun-loving, quirky and goofy — with the kind of toughness and focus that prompted his younger brother, Justin, to refer to him simply as “a real badass.”

Richard Gloyer said Ryan didn’t speak often about his time in the field with special forces or the 82nd Airborne. But through socializing with Ryan’s team members during cookouts and other events, he learned how his son was regarded: a skilled and tough officer who was known for turning “green” recruits into battle-ready soldiers.

“I don’t think there’s a guy he mentored that wouldn’t say ‘I’m a better person today for enduring his tough love,’” Gloyer said.

In 2015 Gloyer was also deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in June of this year began serving a third tour of duty in Afghanistan, where he was acting as part of a “train, advise and assist mission” with Afghan troops and clearing a Taliban position in the Kunduz district when they came under attack. Ryan and Byers, his captain, both died from wounds sustained while engaging enemy forces, according to the Army. Afghan officials have said they are still investigating various aspects of the attack.

Ryan, who was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, Colo., had spoken to his father just days earlier, telling him that he was excited to be returning home in November, when he planned to formally propose to his fiancée, Sierra. The pair had met in Colorado while Ryan was engaged in another one of his favorite pastimes: karaoke. Gloyer said he will always remember his son’s excitement over the plans and his impending return home from deployment.

“He was really, really happy,” Gloyer said. “he was doing what he loved to do, and he was going to start this life with the love of his life.”