Tyrone Woods, Imperial Beach Resident, Killed in Libya Consulate Attack

Updated 5:00 p.m. to include details from Woods' neighbor, 7:28 p.m. to include additional information from Woods' mother and 10:20 a.m. Friday to include info from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Woods' friend Shirley Nakawatase.

Tyrone Woods, 41, of Imperial Beach has been named as one of four people killed during Sept. 11 attacks of the American consulate in Libya, the Department of State said.

Woods was a Navy SEAL for 20 years and a father of three.

He owned The Salty Frog on Palm Avenue until 2011, said bar manager Kanai Williams.

President Obama, Vice President Biden, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the families of victims met the remains of those killed in the attacks . Clinton recognized Woods and Glen A. Doherty Friday.

Doherty lived in Encinitas, was also a former SEAL. Both Woods and Doherty served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He had the hands of a healer as well as the arm of a warrior, earning distinction as a registered nurse and certified paramedic," Clinton said.

Woods lived across the street from the beach, pier and with his wife Dorothy Narvaez-Woods, a dentist in La Jolla. The two had a child, Kai, a few months ago, Clinton said.

Woods also has two teenage boys, Tyrone Jr. and Hunter, with his ex-wife Patricia Ann So. So described him as "balls to the wall" and a person who "loved life, loved adrenaline," U-T San Diego reported.

Manuel Santana was Woods' neighbor for eight years. 

"All I can tell you is he was a good man," he said.

The two Navy veterans got together to "tell sea stories" and share a few beers in the past, but Santana did most of the talking, he said, since Woods was a pretty quiet, private guy.

"Everybody's kind of shocked," Santana said about the tightly knit neighborhood. "It's a shame when something like that happens to a young guy in the prime of his life. For what? It's totally senseless."

Shirley Nakawatase owns an accounting firm on Seacoast Drive doors away from Woods' home, and he would stop by the office every now and then after work. Nakawatase echoed thoughts of neighbors who called him quiet or private, but also called him passionate about his family, service and country.

"Imperial Beach is slightly less sunny without Ty around," she said.

"Ty had an infectious zest for excitement, and enjoyed his life immensely, while fiercely loving his home, dogs, wife and country. He was a joy to be around and so full of energy you felt better after talking with him," Nakawatase said.

According to KATU.com in Oregon where Woods went to high school, his mother Cheryl Bennett said in the past two years her son has protected American diplomatic personnel from Central America to the Middle East. The attack on the consulate, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens also was killed, has set off tensions and further protests in other countries, including Egypt, Yemen, Iraq and Iran.

There is speculation as to the cause of the initial attack in Libya, whether it was sparked by a film made in California that mocked Islam, or was coordinated as part of an effort linked to the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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