Akron Beacon Journal -- A heart attack Monday claimed the life of Akron native Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rodney A. Jarvis who was on his third tour in Iraq, his family said.

''He is a casualty of war,'' his sister, Robin Bacola of Munroe Falls said Wednesday. ''He gave his life just as if he were hit by a bullet.''

Jarvis was scheduled to come home to his wife and two daughters in Louisiana in September.

The 34-year-old had last seen his family in March, when he was home on leave from Iraq.

His wife, Fashion Jarvis, was notified Monday that her husband had died of a heart attack.

''He was one of a kind,'' Fashion Jarvis said.

Her husband had been in good health and left on his latest tour in Iraq on June 1, 2008.

Calling hours for the career soldier will be Monday at the Smith Funeral Home in Newton, Texas, his wife's hometown. His funeral will be Tuesday at First Baptist Church on Main Street in Newton.

The chief warrant officer will be buried in the Hughes Cemetery in Bon Wier, Texas.

Rodney Jarvis joined the Army after graduating from Ellet High School in 1993. He met his wife the next year, and the couple were married in 1995.

''He loved serving his country,'' his wife said.

The couple had two daughters, Heather, 14; and Kourtnie, 13.

The soldier's mother, Betty Jarvis, formerly of Akron, lives with her daughter-in-law and granddaughters in Merryville, Louisiana, Fashion Jarvis said.

He is survived by five brothers, Russ, Randy, Rick and Tommy, all of the Akron area, and Ron Jarvis, of Reno, Nev., and one sister, Robin Bacola.

The soldier had previously served in Haiti and in Germany.

''He took care of paperwork to make sure they [his unit] had equipment,'' his wife said.

After 16 years in the Army, Jarvis had plans to retire in four years.

The couple bought a building in Newton, Texas, a town on the state's eastern edge, near the Louisiana border, and started a small business there. They later converted it into a convenience store called Fashion's Country Store, about a year ago.

The couple met through friends.

''I was going to see a friend of mine and he was there and that is when we met and we never parted,'' she said.

Jarvis was assigned to the 46th Engineer Battalion, 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade based at Fort Polk, La.

''Everything I know about supply I've learned from Chief,'' Capt. Kelly Boone, logistics officer in charge and a close friend to Jarvis, said in the online article.

''He had a way of quoting things form the 'Book of Chief' and sometimes he would just make stuff up,'' Boone said in the article. ''He was hilarious.''

Fashion Jarvis said her husband was a ''wonderful man'' and ''everyone he met just loved him. He loved everybody and everybody loved him.''

Her husband, she said, ''gave 120 percent every time.''

His sister said the family is ''blown away'' by the news of his death, but she said their father, Robert Jarvis, an Army veteran, died of a heart attack at the age of 55.

''I'm struggling with it,'' Bacola said.

Because of his many deployments overseas, his sister said, her brother sacrificed much by being away from his family for long periods of time.

''He gave a lot for this country,'' she said.

The Army, his sister said, ''let him be a very good provider for his family.''