War reporter Marie Colvin laid to rest in New York

The American-born, veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin, who was killed in Syria last month, has been laid to rest in New York.

Colvin (56) was working for the British Sunday Times newspaper, when she was killed in a shelling attack in the besieged city of Homs on Feb. 22, NPR explains.

The funeral was held at St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church in Oyster Bay, Long Island, where Colvin grew up, and a huge American flag was hung along the street outside the funeral home handling the arrangements, according to Associated Press.

Hundreds of mourners attended the service, including the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, The Sunday Times editor John Withero, and immigrants from Sri Lanka, who said they had followed the war in their homeland through her reports, says the New York Daily News.  The Sri Lankans carried a placard calling Colvin the “uncrowned queen of intrepid journalists.” 

More from GlobalPost: Marie Colvin died trying to retrieve her shoes

More from GlobalPost: Marie Colvin's mother remembers her

The Guardian newspaper says that Katrina Heron, Colvin's best friend from Yale, delivered the eulogy.

"Marie lived her wish to know that there was tenderness in the world. She lived it fully and she died for it. We are so proud of her," she said.

Heron also spoke of Colvin's sense of humor and joked: "She would probably say this was a bit sedate for her tastes. I think she'd take one look around and say 'Can we move this party?"

Guest pastor Dennis Mason, Colvin's cousin, led the service. "Her first thought was never herself. She was the most respected, talented, compassionate, selfless journalist of her generation," he reportedly said.

The funeral was followed by a cremation ceremony.

Speaking afterwards the Sunday Times Editor John Witherow is quoted as saying by CNN:  "She was an outstanding reporter, she went all over the world, she covered a lot of wars.  She took tremendous risks and what she did she thought was very important."

AFP says that Colvin is survived by her mother, two brothers and two sisters, who have set-up the Marie Colvin Fund, with plans to direct donations to organizations"that reflect Marie's lifelong dedication to humanitarian aid, human rights, journalism and education."

More from GlobalPost:  Xerox Series – How Israel dodged the economic crisis