A Fort Richardson soldier was found dead in his barracks room on base this week.

The Army says 25-year-old Blake Bronaugh died on Thanksgiving.

Bronaugh is from Texas, and his family believes there was no foul play. His uncle said the family believes he died of natural causes.

"He was a great person. He loved life. He loved his family," Randy Bronaugh said in a phone interview. "He loved his niece, which is his brother's daughter, Ava. He loved the military, and it's just a tragic, tragic thing."

The Army says it's still looking in to exactly what happened and has launched a criminal investigation into the death.

A spokesperson said it is not known when the investigation will be completed.

Meanwhile, Blake Bronaugh's family is struggling to cope with the death.

And while all questions haven't been answered about what led to the death, everyone seemed to have something great to say about him.

He was an engineer-soldier from Wichita Falls, Texas, who joined the Army three years ago.

Bronaugh came up to Fort Richardson in 2006 and was assigned to the 864th Engineer Combat Battalion.

He served on one tour overseas in Iraq, and just recently returned.

Bronaugh was closest with his younger brother, Barry, another soldier serving overseas right now.

Barry Bronaugh is trying to get back to Texas to be with his family right now. He said he was one of the last ones to talk to him on Thanksgiving Day.

He said Blake seemed to be doing fine and mentioned he was going to have a few drinks with some friends. Family members describe him as a very religious man that always put others before himself.

"My mom had talked to him Monday, he passed away Thursday and she asked him -- I don't remember what the conversation was, but it came up and it was really weird," Barry Bronaugh said. "She said, 'Blake, if you die today, do you know where you're going to go?' And he said, 'Of course I do mom. I'm going to heaven."

The family plans to have a service in Texas early next week. No word yet on memorial services here in Alaska.