WARWICK — Friends and family of the late Marine Lance Cpl. Eric Valdepeñas gathered yesterday at Bishop Hendricken High School to remember the young man who died last year while serving in Iraq.

Valdepeñas, who graduated from the Catholic high school in 2003, was killed last September by a roadside bomb — known as an improvised explosive device or IED — while on patrol in Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

He was studying engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst before his unit was called up.

The blast also killed Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Shoemaker, 29, of Tulsa, Okla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher G. Walsh, 30, of St. Louis, Mo. Walsh was a Navy medic assigned to Valdepeñas’ Marines weapons company.

The only survivor, Marine Lance Cpl. Cody Hill, 23, of Ada, Okla., obtained medical clearance to attend Valdepeñas’ memorial ceremony.

Hill, who is still recovering from his injuries, said he plans to visit the families of Walsh and Shoemaker.

Also in attendance was Cpl. Patrick Murray, 23, of North Kingstown, who graduated from Hendricken in 2001, and was also injured in Iraq last year.

“We are always ready to show our support for his family, how much we care for him,” Murray said. “Someone like him shouldn’t have got taken away because he was an excellent guy.”

Under a constant rainfall — reminiscent of his funeral and fitting for the somber mood — his friends, family, and fellow Marines watched Hendricken’s varsity lacrosse team and the junior varsity lacrosse team play to a tie.

Valdepeñas, a star athlete and honors student at Hendricken, co-captained the Hawks’ lacrosse team in his senior year and was an all-state lacrosse player.

“He was a very team-oriented player,” lacrosse coach Kevin Murray said.

“He was just very dedicated,” he said, noting Valdepeñas followed the team after graduation.

Valdepeñas’ leadership skills, the Rev. Marcel Taillon said, earned him the first Scott A. Sheminski award, named after the school’s former lacrosse coach who died in 2001 of cancer.

Valdepeñas’ family has also started an annual award to honor the young Marine. The award was presented this year to Sean Murray, a junior. Murray, Kevin Murray’s son, was the last player to wear Valdepeñas’ No. 25 jersey. The jersey has since been retired. It was presented yesterday to Valdepeñas’ family.

“We are really blessed to have such an outpouring of support,” said Nora Valdepeñas, Eric Valdepeñas’ sister. “I can’t tell you how comforting this is,” she said.

The family, she said, has sought solace in their faith.

Upon receiving the news of Valdepeñas’ death, Nora Valdepeñas said, her parents placed a photo of their youngest son at the foot of a large crucifix in their house.

They told Taillon, “We didn’t know what to do. We brought him to Jesus.”

The crucifix was taken to the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul for his funeral.

“I have no idea how we could have got through this tragedy wihout” our religious beliefs, Nora Valdepeñas said.“We know Eric is in heaven,” Nora Valdepeñas said.

Seekonk’s veterans association unveiled a memorial for Valdepeñas Saturday near his parents’ home.

The school also presented a plaque to the Marines, which was accepted by Marine Capt. Brendan Fogarty, who graduated from Hendricken in 1993.

marmenta@projo.com