A soldier who was born in Normal and was killed earlier this month in Afghanistan lived and died the way he would have wanted, his mother said Monday. Sgt. 1st Class Johnathan Bryant McCain, 38, was killed Nov. 13 by a roadside bomb while he was on mounted patrol in Kandahar province, the Department of Defense announced. He was born in Normal and then from the ages of 3 to 14 lived in Bloomington-Normal and briefly in LeRoy, said his mother, Sharon Gainey, who now lives in South Carolina. Being in the military was a lifelong dream for the son of a family with a strong tradition of patriotism and military service, she said. “Ever since he was a little guy, that’s what he wanted to do,” she said. “He lived how he wanted to live and he died how he wanted to die.” McCain was stationed with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. His residence was in Apache Junction, Ariz. He was due to return home in April from his third deployment; the previous two were to Iraq, his mother said. He planned to retire from the Army in about 1½ years. The father of four also was an avid hunter, fisherman and artist. “Alaska had everything in life he loved,” Gainey said. He will be buried Dec. 15 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.