LA PORTE, Texas -- The U.S. Department of Defense informed a local family that one of their loved ones died Wednesday in a non-combat related incident in Afghanistan.

Jarrett Griemel, 20, leaves behind several loved ones -- including his new bride -- who remember the late Army specialist as a thrill seeker who loved to make people smile.

"As soon as he walked into the room, you knew he was going to make you laugh," said Crystal Schallert, Griemel's sister-in-law.

Griemel went to basic training before graduating from La Porte High School in 2007.

"You knew he was very proud of himself and what he was doing," Schallert said. "We all were and still are."

Griemel married his high school sweetheart just last year before being deployed to Afghanistan in March.

"Everybody was worried, but at the same time you knew that's what he wanted," said Schallert.

On Wednesday, the family received word that the healthy, active 20-year-old had died mysteriously at forward operating base Gardez.

"He was supposed to go meet friends to work out," Schallert said. "Didn't show up. A friend went to check on him."

According to Schallert, Griemel was in his bed and wouldn't wake up. The friend attempted to revive him but it was too late.

The military is investigating to determine how Griemel died.

"He was healthy," Schallert said. "Everybody is still shocked."

Flages line Mission Street in La Porte, Texas, and a poster made by Griemel's sister's cheerleading squad hangs on the house where he grew up.

Griemel's body is expected to arrive at Ellington Field in southeast Houston later this week.