Cindy Walker, one of Texas' most prolific and respected songwriters, died Thursday night at Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia. The long-time Mexia resident, a Mart native, was 87.

Walker wrote such songs as “Cherokee Maiden,” “Miss Molly,” “Bubbles In My Beer” and “You're From Texas,” which Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys turned into western swing standards; “Warm Red Wine” for Ernest Tubb; and “You Don't Know Me,” a hit for Eddy Arnold.

Typing out lyrics on a pink Remington manual typewriter, she crafted Top Ten hits in each decade from the 1940s to the 1980s. Her body of work made her a charter member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

A virtual constellation of stars recorded her songs: Wills, Arnold, Gene Autry, Willie Nelson, Tubb, Roy Orbison, Hank Snow, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Jim Reeves, Ricky Skaggs, Glen Campbell and Lacy J. Dalton.

Those who worked with her over the years remembered a professional who fiercely protected her privacy yet proved a loyal and generous friend.

Popular music star Bing Crosby recorded one of her earliest songs, “Lone Star Trail,” in 1940 and it soared on the charts.

She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997. The latter organization described her as "perhaps the finest female composer in country music history."