Hundreds honor late founding member of the Dixie Chicks in Downtown El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Hundreds of El Pasoans, other Texans, and admirers of Dixie Chicks founding member Laura Lynch remembered her life, and legacy Saturday at St. Clements Church in Downtown El Paso.

"She just had a passion for life, and a big smile on her face everyday," said Rod Ponton, who said he was close friends with Lynch for 40 years.

Lynch died suddenly last month when she was involved in a head-on crash in Hudspeth County. Close friends told ABC-7, she died instantly. She was 65 years old.

The musical icon was born in El Paso, and grew up in Dell City. According to her obituary, she split her time between the El Paso-Dell City area and Fort Worth.

"She embodied music. She had music in her, and the way she spoke. And... and she couldn't contain it," said Therese Moncrief of Fort Worth, with a smile on her face as she remembered her close friend. "Music never left her."

But many of Lynch's loved ones told ABC-7, music was not her only passion.

"One of her biggest projects that she really wanted to find support for, was for water rights," said Moncrief.

Lynch's work to provide people with clean water included a years-long fight right here in El Paso.

"She worked very hard with her family to accomplish what seemed like an impossible task at the beginning, of securing her family's water rights on the family ranch so that that could become one of the major water sources for the City of El Paso," said Ponton.

The work Lynch dedicated herself to, as well as what her loved ones called an infectious personality, gained her many friends throughout her lifetime. Dozens of people from all walks of life came up to ABC-7 crews after her memorial at St. Clements, to share stories about how she always put others first.

Among many positive traits, Lynch was described as incredibly humble. Perhaps that's why, when she had a stroke towards the end of her life, she came up with the insights that Moncrief relayed.

"No matter what you do, you're going to die. But the more you say that, the more it kind of becomes a tagline that lightens life. It doesn't... it's not as somber as it started out," she said.

Another memorial will be held for Lynch next month in Fort Worth. The service is scheduled for February 5, from 5-7 p.m. at The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.