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Cool SlideshowsLife of Eric McMillan celebrated at Murrieta ValleyBy: Jose Carvajal - For the CalifornianMURRIETA ---- On a sunny, autumn afternoon Sunday, a community gathered to commemorate the death and celebrate the life of Murrieta Valley High School graduate Eric McMillan.About 800 students, athletes, teachers and community members gathered in the school's gymnasium for a memorial service and to say a final goodbye to McMillan, 19, a 2003 graduate who was in his second year at the University of Idaho. A standout football player in high school, McMillan was a starting cornerback for the college's football team.He was shot at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 19, in his Moscow, Idaho, apartment and died after surgery in early the next day. Two Seattle brothers have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting, which remains under investigation.
One after another in Sunday's memorial, former teachers, coaches and friends used words like "leader," "role model" and "winner" to describe "E-Mac," as he was affectionately called.Murrieta Valley football coach Wally Clark said McMillan was the standard to which other athletes and students were held up. More importantly, Clark said, he was an uplifting person to be around."After being with Eric for 30 minutes you felt like you were his best friend," he said. "Eric touched a lot of people ---- in the classroom, in the community with kids, with all of you."Cameron Porter, McMillan's high school teammate and friend, described him as being hard-working and persistent."He was a winner and would never give up," Porter said. "When I talked to him, he seemed like he had some kind of engine (inside)."A touching address was delivered by McMillan's Idaho teammate Chris Kehne, a graduate of Chaparral High School.The two had become friends during their senior years when they learned they would both be attending Idaho on football scholarships. Later, they would become roommates."During college when I was having a hard time, I'd walk into our dorm room and just seeing him would give me a smile," Kehne said.Leaning against the podium, surrounded by floral displays and photos of McMillan, Kehne spoke with a shaky voice as he choked back tears. He told the story of how he and McMillan first became friends.As a senior at Chaparral, Kehne said, he had been struggling in two classes, putting his athletic scholarship at risk, he said. To his surprise, he got a phone call of support from McMillan, whom he had only known casually."A few days later he called again," Kehne said. "(Eventually) he called once or twice a week to see how my classes were going. I know if it wasn't for Eric's and my parents' persistence, I would have just given up."The service lasted nearly two hours and included music, a photo montage and an address by the Rev. John Wells, pastor of Mountain View Community Church in Temecula, where McMillan had been a regular member. At times, the attendees laughed and at times, they cried.McMillan's twin sister, Erica, attended the service and though she didn't address the crowd, she was presented with her brother's jerseys from Murrieta Valley and Idaho and a plaque depicting a guardian angel.As the service came to a close, the crowd moved to the courtyard outside the gymnasium to the music of a bagpipe. As the crowd gathered around a final prayer was given and a flock of doves was released into the sky.One lone dove was released as a symbol of McMillan's spirit, and then one dove for each of McMillan's 19 years. As the crowd watched silently, the birds disappeared into the clear, blue sky.
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