JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Family and friends gathered Tuesday to honor a local soldier who recently lost his battle with cancer.

Sgt. Casey Watters' was remembered at his funeral Tuesday. He died Wednesday from a rare form of cancer discovered by doctors after he was wounded in Iraq.

Friends and family paid their last respects to the fallen soldier, who many described as a warrior in more ways than one.

It's a moment Peggy and Gary Watters knew they might one day have to face when their son Casey joined the Army in 2001. But after surviving two tours in Iraq, they never imagined his most difficult fight would be with cancer.

"He knew that was part of the peripheral damage from what he was doing," Peggy said. "He was never angry at anyone."

Watters truly made it his life's mission to serve and protect others, and those closest to him said he put everything he had into what he did.

"He loved everybody," said Rachel Watters, Casey's wife. "He loved everything he did, all the work he did in Iraq, and he was so proud of that, to be able to be over there."

"The warrior that he was, he faced the sickness and illness that he had and he fought til the end," Peggy said, "and I'm telling you, many times we did not think he was going to pull through, and the doctors were amazed."

While mourning the loss of casey, the Watterses know his death was not in vain.

"He was at peace," one person close to Watters said. "It was so rough at the end. I'm just so glad he's not in pain anymore."

"I would like people to remember that the point of all this is for our freedom," Peggy added. "For all Americans to be able to say, worship in whatever way they want to, and that's why he did what he did -- for everybody."

The family is asking if you'd like to make a donation or send flowers for Casey to make it in his name to the Soldiers' Angels Fund, which provided support for Casey and his family throughout his battle with cancer.