A memorial celebration is held in a Schenectady park to honor Eddie Stanley. It's been more than a year since the teen was shot and killed at a house party. Our Beth Croughan has more.

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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- A quilt hung over a portion of a chain link fence in Schenectady's Jerry Burrell Park. The picture of a young man's face was printed on it.

"He could have been here celebrating with us. Instead of us celebrating for him. So, it's tough," said Ronald Smalls, the cousin of 15-year-old Eddie Stanley.

The friends and family of Stanley came together just a few days after his birthday. "His birthday was Friday, the 22nd. He would have been 17," said Jackie Gentry, Stanley's uncle.

It also comes a couple of weeks after the one year anniversary of his death. Police said Stanley was shot and killed at a house party in the city's Mount Pleasant neighborhood on June 12, 2011.

"It's a big loss, you know, it's a very big loss. And we can never get back that loss," said Gentry.

But Sunday at a celebration in Stanley's honor, they remembered who and what they lost. "Loved sports, loved to help people out, he would open the door for you," said Smalls of Stanley. And they hoped this would help others. "I would hope that whoever comes here today, would look at this as a tragic event that happened and to try to prevent another tragedy from happening in the future," Smalls said.

Authorities have since charged a Brooklyn man with Stanley's murder.