coronavirus

Navy Vet, Loving Husband Who Died of COVID-19 Was β€˜Angel on Earth'

A beloved Navy veteran, Scott Tyrrell lost his battle with COVID-19 on Monday.

Family and friends mourned the death Wednesday of a Navy hero who died on Monday from complications from COVID-19.

Marcie Tyrrell says her husband, Scott, wasn't only a hero in the military.

"Scott is the love of my life," she said. "He's been a rock for me. He's always been a protector."

Scott was not only a protector for their blended family of six, "he would do anything for anybody."

The 58-year-old physical therapist assistant was also a protector for everyone.

"We were at a Target and a lady fell down, passed out," she said. "I said, 'Honey, honey, go get 'em.' He went right over and just started helping as much as he could."

Marcie says she was never really surprised by Scott's heroics because he was a former Navy vet who bravely served the U.S. for 13 years.

Scott was also a giver who, along with Marcie, volunteered many Friday nights to serve as sideline medics for high school football teams in the Menifee area.

"And making sure that the kids were safe and when they did get hurt, we took care of them."

Marcie says Scott was a hero in other ways, too, most recently in 2015 as they were eating dinner at a McDonald's.

A woman walked inside and shot and killed a man.

"When she shot him we all went under the table except for my husband," she said. "He darted out to a partition. And we didn't know what she was going to do and he tackled her."

Police were called "and the rest of us were safe because of him, because we had no idea what she would do."

Scott died on Monday after battling COVID-19 for many weeks on a ventilator.

"It's so hard because he helped so many people and now he'll help them spiritually."

Marcie says Scott will never be forgotten, in part because his former employer, Walker Physical Therapy is now naming the Menifee building after Scott.

"He was an angel on Earth."

They set up a gofundme site for funeral expenses.

Editor's Note (8/8/20 8 p.m.): This story has been updated to accurately reflect Tyrrell's service in the Navy. An earlier version said he was a Navy SEAL. He was a Navy hospital corpsman.

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