Whenever Laura Schweigman had something left over, she always gave it to those in need.

Her sister Kimberly said that included everything from providing water and pillows to the homeless outside Laura’s apartment to offering her own sibling an internship on the television series “The Wire.”

“From script writing to daily reporting, from rewriting and editing the script to publishing and closing a show,” Kimberly said of her duties as an on-set helper. “I decided that wasn’t for me. But what I learned is that I am capable, and she made sure I knew that.”

Schweigman, a television producer known for her work on such series as “The Wire,” “Treme,” “The Deuce” and “Generation Kill,” died on August 10 surrounded by family at her parents’ home in Maryland after a years-long battle with cancer. She was 44.

One of Schweigman’s first projects in the television industry, according to her brother Andrew, was working as a production assistant, documenting pickups and drops on “The Critical Hour: Shock Trauma.”

She began working as a script assistant for the third season of HBO’s dark crime drama The Wire, where she met David Simon, the series’ creator and her boyfriend.

Within a year, Schweigman’s sincerity and commitment to her projects led to a promotion to Simon’s production assistant.

“She had a lot of charm and inspired a lot of loyalty because she was so genuine and committed and didn’t want anything to go wrong – which was great training for the producer she became,” Simon said.

Simon recalled Schweigman’s confidence and quiet humor at work. In moments on set when he was “over the top,” she would simply look at him and say his name to calm him down, he said.

Kimberly said her sister’s dedication and wisdom influenced the places Schweigman traveled and the people she met. As the oldest of three siblings in a close-knit family, Schweigman was always adept at making things happen, Andrew said, whether it was chaperoning Andrew’s trip to the Statue of Liberty or being Kimberly’s dance teacher.

“She was a teacher – she taught me most of the things in my life,” Kimberly said. “She also taught her teachers things, like how to excel and get the work done, but also do it in a kind way.”

Although she grew up in Baltimore County and performed in shows set in Baltimore, many who knew Schweigman can remember the defining moment when she moved to New Orleans to begin production on Treme.

“Yeah, when she moved there, it was over,” Andrew said.

Simon said Schweigman has become an integral part of New Orleans’ culture and community, donating unspent production funds to nonprofits such as The Roots of Music and the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic.

Schweigman was also instrumental in this type of work in Baltimore during “The Wire” with the Parks and People Foundation, Simon said.

And although Schweigman loved coming home to Baltimore and seeing how things were changing or what was new, her heart was in New Orleans, Kimberley said.

Schweigman, part of the first all-women Mardi Gras Krewe of Muses, even gave Simon a specially decorated high heel.

“She did one based on the murder in ‘The Wire’ – it had everything from blood splatters to crime scene tape,” Simon said. “She made sure to give it to me.”

Andrew said there’s no shortage of Mardi Gras beads in his family’s home. Schweigman used his Amazon account, so his order history was always full of wild costumes and props in green and gold or Figment purple, Schweigman’s favorite Disney character. Now the items are mementos of the fun times and the loving aura it brought.

“She really wanted the boys to remember her, my boys and my brother’s (Bernard Schweigman III) boys. And my youngest is three years old and she was terrified that he wouldn’t remember her,” Andrew said. “She just didn’t want to be forgotten.”

With Schweigman in New Orleans and Kimberly moving from Maryland to Los Angeles, they took time to connect with each other, even in the smallest of moments.

Kimberly said she recently listened to a voicemail from one of her sisters in which Schweigman called and complained about not being able to find a parking space.

“She was always willing to listen when you were crying or complaining or just talking and talking about trivial things,” Kimberly said.

Schweigman’s sister also remembers all the fun moments, including a special visit to New Orleans where she went zydeco dancing at the Rock ‘N’ Bowl after lunch with friends and estate sales after midnight. “I couldn’t keep up with her,” she said.

“She loved to have fun, she loved her family and her friends, and she knew that the most important thing in her life was not money,” Kimberly said. “She took advantage of every minute she could and lived it to the fullest.”

A memorial service for Schweigman will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday at the McComas Celebration of Life Center, 1114 Baldwin Mill Road in Jarrettsville, Maryland.