More than 200 people attended Lance Cpl. Stacy A. Dryden’s funeral service, where her lifelong friend and fellow Marine, Pfc. Jessie Reed, spoke of her love of a woman known as “Annie.”

“Without Annie, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Reed said. “She’s going to stay in my heart forever.”

Dryden, 22, of North Canton, Ohio, died Oct. 19 in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province. She was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Pendleton.

“Annie took a big bite out of life,” said her great uncle, Rev. Gary Glover.

According to her family, the Marines she served with named her the “Fiery Angel” because “she came off as sweet and innocent, but she was tough as nails.”

Whether it was singing in the school choir or cheerleading, she always pushed herself to new experiences. She enlisted in March 2007 and had served for two months in Iraq as a packaging specialist.

“She thought the Marines were the most challenging of all the services,” said Midge King, her cousin. “She always wanted to try new things.”

She is survived by her mother, Thea Dryden, and father, Ronald “Scott” Dryden.