"For us it's a great loss, because Tim filled such a center stage in our family," said Cindy Cunningham, Tim's mother. "We know we have a Tim-shaped hole right now but the truth of the matter is Tim is home and we're the ones that are still deployed."
Cunnigham served with a 101st Airborne unit. He graduated from Alvin High School in 2000, then spent a year at Texas A&M University. He later received an appointment to West Point and earned a degree in nuclear engineering before joining the Army.
His funeral services will be held Thursday.
