Memorial services for US journalist slain in Syria

NEW YORK – Religious services were set for Monday for Marie Colvin, the American war correspondent who died covering the unrest in Syria.

Memorial services were held over the weekend for Colvin, who died on February 22 during a Syrian army bombardment of the rebel stronghold city of Homs.

A Catholic service was scheduled at St. Dominic Church in Long Island outside New York City, according to the Oyster Bay Funeral Home. Colvin’s body will then be cremated in a private ceremony.

Mourners were able to visit the remains in a closed-casket ceremony on Saturday and Sunday, the funeral home and local media reported.

Colvin, who worked for The Sunday Times of London, was born in East Norwich, New York, where her mother still lives. The town is close to Oyster Bay.

“Marie Colvin will always be in the hearts of each and every Syrian wherever they are,” wrote a mourner named Reem Faraj on the funeral home website. “She was and will always be one of the heroes who made the cries of Syrians and other victims in the world be heard. The memories of those heroes will never die”

“Marie, you were the bravest person I know and I don’t think you realized what an inspiration you were to us other women reporters,” added a mourner named Christina Lamb. “We will miss you. Now I’ve met your mum i know where you got it from.”

In lieu of flowers, Colvin’s relatives — including her mother Rosemarie, two brothers and two sisters — are seeking donations for the Marie Colvin Fund, which will “direct donations to charitable and educational organizations that reflect Marie’s lifelong dedication to humanitarian aid, human rights, journalism and education.”

The fund’s website is https://mariecolvin.org.

Separately, a group of activists in what they are calling The Marie Colvin Convoy for Freedom of Syria made a stop in Chicago on Sunday.

The activists earlier departed Los Angeles, and plan to be in New York on Thursday to deliver their condolences to Colvin’s family, then head to Washington for a rally outside the White House.

Colvin, 56, was buried in debris along with the late French photographer Remi Ochlik when rockets slammed into the building they were sheltering in.