SAN JOSE, Calif. — A 36-year-old soldier from San Jose died in Iraq last week when an explosive detonated near his vehicle.

Spc. Edwin Roodhouse was killed Dec. 5 in Habbaniyah, Iraq. Staff Sgt. Marvin Trost III, 28, of Goshen, Ind., also died in the explosion.

“Ed was a marvelous man,” Roodhouse’s father, Alan Roodhouse, and his stepmother, Donna, both of McMinnville, Ore., said in a statement.

“Ed was unique — he was a trained computer network engineer who worked for various companies. He also loved to write and tell stories, and he enjoyed literature.”

Roodhouse, who was unmarried and had no children, joined the Army in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Roodhouse was a native of Lemoore and also lived in Marin County for part of his life. He worked in the Bay Area for about 10 years as a computer networking engineer.

His family established a scholarship in Roodhouse’s name for seniors in English at Hillsdale (Mich.) College, from which his brother Ben graduated, and where his sister Kate is enrolled.

Roodhouse and Trost were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Camp Greaves, South Korea.