HOUSTON — Beloved and revered Houston Gospel artist and choir director Dr. LaTonya Earl was laid to rest Saturday following a celebration of life at the Church at Bethel's Family.
Dr. Earl served the church for 15 years, and was the Worship Director at the time of her passing. She died in a car crash when a truck spilled wet cement onto Old Humble Road on Valentine's Day.
Hundreds of people attended the services Saturday morning.
Dr. Earl's daughter, Britney, husband, Waler, and sister, LaToshia, all shared memories of how she touched their lives.
"She was a wife, mother, and powerful warrior of God. Well done, mom. ‘Til we meet again. I love you." said Dr. Earl's daughter, Britney.
"She's irreplaceable," said Senior Pastor Walter August. "Her legacy will continue to go forward based on the choirs and ministries that she's built here and also her family that's implanted, embedded in this church family."
Dr. Earl received several honors throughout the service, too.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee announced that Dr. Earl would be honored in Washington, D.C. in September during Gospel Music Heritage Month.
"I did not want to not come to tell you she is iconic because she lived, but she is angelic because God knew her and she knew God," the Congresswoman said.
Besides her powerful music, her most memorable traits were her unmatched love for others, and her ability to find common ground with anyone.
"No matter who it was, she had love for everyone," said Lanore McGill, Earl's first cousin. "She would be the one to keep the family together."
"She had a heart for people, period," Pastor August said. "Regardless of what you're situation might have been, she was the person you called."
He said her son has autism, and she was a champion for people with disabilities.
"She was an avid fighter for those people. I don't believe she had any enemies," Pastor August said.
For her service to the church and the people she touched through singing, directing, and teaching, Pastor August decided that Dr. Earl would be carried out of the church by fellow pastors and ministers.
"I just felt in my heart, in this church -- we're 26 years old in a couple of weeks -- she has been the main person that has impacted and drew so many people to this church, so her service had to be on a pastoral level," he said.
"You never know until somebody passes away and you see this type of love that she has given and everyone is giving it back to her," McGill said.