(CNN) Carley McCord, the sports reporter killed in a Louisiana plane crash Saturday, "smelled of raw talent" from birth, those who knew her said in an obituary ahead of her funeral this week.

She discovered her passion for sports in high school, when she became a national powerlifting champion by 15, according to her obituary posted by Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Funeral Home. Later on in college, she won five pageant titles and "multiple awards from the Miss America Organization for her singing talent, physical fitness and interview style," the obituary said.

She worked with the Cleveland Browns and returned to her home in Louisiana and became a "firebrand sports analyst and household name for her marked intelligence, infectious personality and megawatt smile."

McCord, along with the four other people killed in the crash , was on her way to Atlanta for a college football playoff semifinal.

At the time of the crash, the obituary says she held eight jobs: "In-house media host for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, TV sports reporter for WDSU, sideline reporter for ESPN and Cox Sports, in-house digital media manager for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, travel agent, and international instructor teaching children in China to speak English as a second language."

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