'Everybody knows Tim': Johnson County deputy gave everything for his family, community

Update: Additional information on Timothy Guyer's cause of death was added to this article on Sept. 22, 2023.

Original article: When he wasn’t with his wife and four kids, Timothy Guyer was providing for them.

The 49-year-old was the ultimate family man and a well-respected presence in Johnson County, where he coached youth sports, owned a construction business and most recently began as a deputy with the sheriff’s office.

“He had a very rough start to his life,” said Brian Santerre, Guyer’s longtime friend and business partner. “Tim’s parents died when he was young. He remembered what he had gone through and was determined to be there for his kids every day.”

Guyer was sworn in as a deputy with the sheriff’s office in December. He looked at the job as a way to serve his community and provide for his loved ones in a different way.

Guyer was two weeks away from graduating from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield and returning to the sheriff’s office as a deputy. He was found unresponsive in his dorm room at the facility Tuesday morning and then pronounced dead.

Detectives with the Indiana State Police are investigating the death and preliminarily believe the deputy died of a medical issue.

Close to two months after his death, the Hendricks County Coroner's Office stated Guyer's death was natural. Guyer died of severe hyponatremia with heart disease as a contributing factor, said chief deputy coroner Dan Chubb.

Hyponatremia is when the body does not have enough sodium. In Guyer's case this was caused by blood pressure medicine, medication similar to ibuprofen and sweating from physical activity. The low sodium caused the deputy's heart to become irritable, leading to his death, Chubb said.

'He was a very servant-hearted man.'

“Tim's legacy is that he always made time for people,” said Kate Taylor, a family friend. “We need a lot more of that in the world these days. When you talked to him, he was truly listening to what you were saying."

Guyer kept busy attending Fair Haven Christian Church in Franklin and running BC Construction with his business partners Santerre and Brian Corey. Guyer also worked as a building inspector for the municipalities of New Whiteland, Trafalgar and Morgantown.

The father still found time to coach his children in wrestling and little league baseball for many years. He was an assistant baseball coach at Indian Creek High School and an assistant football coach at Indian Creek Middle School.

Michael Elmore, the head football coach at Indian Creek Middle School, remembers how dedicated Guyer was to the kids on the team, even after his own son couldn’t play due to an injury.

“He freely gave his time and didn't ask for anything in return,” Elmore said. “As a dad and a coach, I tried to model my life after him because he was such an all-around good guy.”

Previous coverage: Recruit fulfilling dream to become a Johnson County deputy dies weeks from graduation

Greg Taylor met Guyer more than 30 years ago when they played baseball together at Vincennes University. The two fathers went on to coach their sons together in baseball.

“He not only would take care of his family, but he would treat every kid with respect and give them the time,” Greg Taylor said. “He was a very servant-hearted man.”

He first heard Guyer was going to start a career in policing about a year ago, Greg Taylor said.

“We kind of joked about it because of the late-career choice, but it made sense if you stepped back and thought about it,” Greg Taylor said. “Tim wanted to serve, and he could do that as an officer.”

Guyer had friends at the sheriff’s office and started thinking about it as a career option after riding along with deputies. He passed all the physical requirements and was enjoying the work before his death, his business partner said.

“He invested a lot of his own time, even off-duty, to reading and studying for the job,” Santerre said. “He was doing what he normally does and that’s being a leader."

Guyer’s focus was on supporting his family, while keeping his evenings and weekends free to be there with them as a coach, father or husband. His death is being felt by many people, beyond his family, in Johnson County.

“We would go out to lunch and there was rarely a time he wouldn't see someone he knew from coaching or church,” Santerre said. “He was just so heavily involved in his kids’ lives and the community. Everybody knows Tim." 

‘Tim Guyer had that drive’

Timothy Horty, executive director of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, said it was unusual for someone of Guyer’s age to attend the academy, but there is no age limit. 

"Deputy Guyer saw it differently and God bless him for being here and being willing to go back and serve the community,” Horty said. 

The average age of recruits in the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy hovers in the mid-20s, but it is not unheard of for people to start their law enforcement career later in life at sheriff’s offices.

Many police and fire departments around the state have age restrictions for people interested in entering the force. The parameters are set by the state under the police officer and firefighter’s pension plans. However, Sheriff’s departments, are not bound by the same rules.

It's up to the individual agencies to set their hiring policies when it comes to age.

IndyStar asked Sheriff’s offices in Marion County and surrounding jurisdictions about their policies. Officials from Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion and Shelby counties, said they do not have an age requirement, beyond the applicant being 21.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said when it comes to hiring, he looks for the best person for the job, and he saw quality in Guyer.

“Tim Guyer had that drive,” Burgess said.

Information on Guyer’s funeral and a memorial fund to support his family is expected to be released by the sheriff’s office in the coming days.

Tim Guyer's funeral information

Guyer's funeral will be for family, friends and law enforcement, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. A visitation will take place Monday from 2-8 p.m. at the Fair Haven Christian Church, 1476 West 300 South in Franklin. The funeral service will take place at the church at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, followed by a burial at Greenlawn Cemetery in Franklin.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana sheriff's deputy Tim Guyer gave everything for family, community