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TULSA — A U.S. Army soldier from Broken Arrow who was recovering from wounds suffered in a 2004 roadside bombing in Iraq has died, according to his family.

Army Staff Sgt. Jack D. Richards, 39, died in North Carolina, where he was on medical leave and receiving treatment at Fort Bragg, said his sister, Pam Schultz of Broken Arrow.

Richards nearly lost a leg when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in 2004 while he was serving in Iraq.

"They've been trying to repair him for three years, and they were still in the process when we lost him,” Schultz told the Tulsa World.

As part of his treatment, Richards since Wednesday had been using a machine that administered morphine, she said.

He was found at his home on Sunday, but family members had not been able to reach him for several days, Schultz said.

Richards served in the Army 10 years and was to turn 40 in December. The Defense Department and officials at Fort Bragg as of Monday morning had not confirmed his death.

During his military service, Richards was stationed as a paratrooper in Albania, Kosovo, Korea, Iraq and Germany, his sister said.

"He served his country,” Schultz said. "He loved paratrooping.”

Richards lived most of his life in Broken Arrow, where he graduated from Broken Arrow High School in 1986 and Rhema Bible College in 1993. He joined the Army at age 29.

"He just wanted to serve his country and do what he felt it was his duty to do. We were, of course, all proud of him” Schultz said.

Schultz said most of Richards' family lives in Broken Arrow.

Survivors include his wife, Janey Richards; son, Titus Ryan Richards; parents Jack and Lois Richards; and sisters, Sandy Laney and Pam Schultz.

Services are pending at Hayhurst Funeral Home in Broken Arrow.