WAASIS, N.B. — A young Canadian soldier killed last week in Afghanistan was remembered by family and friends Friday as an adventurous young man with a free spirit.

Cpl. Chad O'Quinn, 24, and two colleagues -- Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown and Cpl. Danny Oliver Fortin -- died when a roadside bomb exploded near a patrol northwest of Kandahar City on March 3.

Two other soldiers were injured.

They had just defused a roadside bomb and were returning to base when the explosion occurred.

"He definitely had a free spirit," said his father, Ken. "He just basically enjoyed life. ... He just seemed to be happy all the time."

The elder O'Quinn said his son was always adventurous -- riding and jumping dirt bikes as a youth -- and later doing such things as skydiving.

Family members, friends and neighbours gathered at the family home in Waasis on Friday to support each other before Saturday's funeral and to show their pride as they described Chad to members of the media.

"He was just amazing," said Naomi Holder, O'Quinn's fiance. "I used to call him my unicorn because he didn't exist. ... He was perfect. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, no flaws.

"He was one of the nicest human beings I ever met. He was giving and never had an unkind word about anybody."

Holder said they planned to marry, travel the world, and start a family.

O'Quinn was born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., but the family moved to New Brunswick when he was eight years old.

He attended Oromocto High School, just a short walk from the main gate of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

At the time of his death, O'Quinn was a member of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron, based at CFB Petawawa, Ont.

He was on his second tour in Afghanistan.

His best friend, Master Cpl. Adam Laton, was also deployed in Afghanistan but not in the same area.

Laton received permission to return to Canada for the funeral and to help support the family.

"Chad was very professional and definitely the type of soldier that everyone wanted to be," he told reporters. "He made everyone smile no matter how crappy things were."

Another friend, Cpl. Shane Andexer, met O'Quinn at Petawawa, but is now stationed in Cold Lake, Alta.

"Chad always looked for a new challenge," Andexer said. "He was by far the most fit soldier I knew and he was probably the brightest.

"He was very, very proud to wear the uniform and really supported the mission, as we all do."

The funeral will begin 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Luke's Chapel at CFB Gagetown.

Base officials were expecting a large turnout of family and friends, including a contingent of more than 50 soldiers from Petawawa.

A video feed of the service will be provided at an overflow church near the base.