Army combat vet remembered for the kindness and discipline he brought to his brother
On Nov. 2, Tyler Wimbush, age 30, was shot and killed on Allen Rd.
The coroner ruled his death a homicide. Investigators have yet to make an arrest in the case.
Tyler’s brother, Spencer Wimbush shared memories of his brother, details of his military service that began in 2012 and his life after the Army where he saw combat duty. As a private first class, Tyler served two tours in Afghanistan as a mechanic and, after being injured by a grenade and gunfire, he was honorably discharged in 2015.
Tyler grew up in Durham County, North Carolina and attended Riverside High School where, according to his obituary, he graduated “in the top of his class.”
“My brother borderline raised me,” Spencer Wimbush said. “He took it upon himself to step up and kind of be a father figure to me. ”He basically held me accountable for the things that I did. He showed me what discipline was and he showed me love.
He helped me become a better man, the man that I am today.”
Tyler is also survived by his daughter, Azalea (Izzy) Henwood.
After his discharge, Tyler Wimbush moved to Hilton Head. That’s when he “fell of the deep end,” his brother Spencer Wimbush said.
Despite the drug charges, he turned his life around after being put on probation, his brother said. It was even easy for him, he added. “I guess he hung out with the wrong crowd and he got those charges,”
“My older brother has made very dumb decisions and we we hate that he did those dumb decisions because that’s not that’s not how my family works,” Spencer Wimbush said. “But he didn’t struggle [with getting clean] at all. It was like it was the easiest thing.”
At the time of his death, Tyler Wimbush had a job loading and unloading trucks for Federal Express.
“I think it hit me pretty hard because I was definitely yelling and screaming when I got the call,” Spencer Wimbush said. “I still feel his presence. I know he’s not lost.”
Tyler Wimbush was found alongside his dog, Kharisma, who had also been shot. However, Kharisma has since been returned to Tyler Wimbush’s girlfriend and is recovering, said Angela Viens, spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Viens did not have any updates on the investigation to find who was responsible for the murder.
