William Edward "Eddy" Tiner III

Lt. Col. (Ret) William Edward "Eddy" Tiner, III, 49, went home to his heavenly Father on January 21, 2014, in Bad Wildbad, Germany. Eddy was born to Bill Ed and Janet Tiner on May 31, 1964, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dardanelle High School in 1982, where he was a Jr. ROTC member for four years, serving as Commander his senior year. He was a National Merit Scholar, a representative to Arkansas Boys State and a former member of First Baptist Church in Dardanelle, where he was baptized following his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at Siloam Springs Youth Camp. Eddy also played American Legion Baseball in Russellville for three years. Mr. Tiner received his B. S. in mathematics from the University of Arkansas in 1986 where he had a full scholarship. He also played Rugby and performed in the production of "The Mikado". His M. S. in mathematics education was earned from the University of Illinois in 2010. Upon graduating from the U of A and commissioned into the Army, Eddy served in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008-09. He was a graduate of the Army Ranger School and in 1996 he served in Bosnia with a UN Protection Force. While serving in Bosnia, he and his Army buddies would take trips to other cities and countries as their time allowed. He met his future wife, Milena Alexandrova, on a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, where she was working at a Pizza Hut. Mr. Tiner had many hobbies and interests including opera, Amy Grant, an avid hiker and camper, especially with his beloved sons. He loved board and card games and was especially skilled at chess. He enjoyed taking his sons on the train system and teaching them how to use their own computers to develop their own trains and railways in Germany. He also enjoyed visiting museums and architectural features of buildings and castles of Germany. While residing in Urbana, Illinois, Eddy worked at NovaNet Couseware and was an ROTC instructor at the University of Illinois and taught math a Next Generation School in Champaign. Survivors include his wife, Milena; sons, William "Will" Edward Tiner IV, of Champaign, Illinois, Alexander and Maxim Tiner of Germany; sister, Jennifer Tiner of La Costa, California; brother, Andy Tiner of Mountain Home, Arkansas; and parents, Bill Ed and Janet Tiner of Hollister, Missouri; and many beloved aunts, uncles and cousins. A memorial honoring Eddy's life will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at the Shinn Chapel officiated by the Rev. Randy Hart, and under the direction of Shinn Funeral Service of Russellville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, Post Office Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675, or to Gideons International, Russellville Camp, Post Office Box 1604, Russellville, Arkansas 72811. The online obituary and guestbook are available at www.shinnfuneral.com.