Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, he grew up in Manhattan and came to Yale from the city's High School of Music and Art. At Yale he majored in music and was a member of the Yale Marching Band. He was an accomplished flutist. Zachary was a member of Silliman College.

Zachary graduated from New York University Law School. At the time of his death, he was a partner in the Albany law firm of Cohen and Wellman. He was previously an associate of the law firm of Felt and Schlenker; associate counsel with the National Education Association of New York; administrative law judge with the State Public Employment Relations Board and an associate of the New York City law firm of Vladeck, Elias, Vladeck and Lewis.

He was a lifelong skiing enthusiast and a 36-year member of the National Ski Patrol, serving as legal adviser to the Southern New York Region of the Eastern Division of the patrol and served as chair of the Memorial Fund. He was a senior patroller and received the prestigious National Number of 5926 in 1982. He patrolled at Davos (Big Vanilla), West Mountain and Cortina Valley ski areas. He also was a scuba diver and talented underwater photographer. In his youth, he was a camper and counselor at Camp Oquago in Andes, New York, which was owned and operated by his parents.

Zachary battled cancer for nearly eight years. He was founder and first president of the Greater Capital District Coalition for Cancer survivorship and met with President Clinton at a Cancer Survivors National Conference in 1997. His name is on permanent display in the "Ribbon of Hope" at the National Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C.

Survivors, besides his parents Henry and Fromma Wellman of New York City and Andes in Delaware County, New York, include his wife, Celia Farber Wellman; a daughter, Jennifer Wellman Golden of Queens; a son, Eric Wellman of Long Island. His children's mother from his previous marriage was Laurie Wellman. He also left a sister, Elizabeth Wellman Vazquez.

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