Wife Of Billy Gram Dies

[Christina]

RUTH GRAHAM PROMOTED TO GLORY June 15, 2007WorldNetDaily.com reports: “Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died today at the age of 87, according to a family spokesman.After battling pneumonia, she slipped into a coma yesterday at the couple's home in Montreat, N.C., where she was surrounded by her husband and five children. Spokesman Larry Ross said she died at 5:05 p.m. Eastern time.‘Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team,’ Billy Graham said in a statement. ‘No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.‘I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we've had in the mountains together. We've rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.’Billy Graham issued a statement yesterday saying he and his wife, who turned 87 Sunday, had decided to be buried next to each other at the Billy Graham Library in Billy Graham's hometown of Charlotte.‘We have held this decision privately and only decided to announce it now that she is close to going home to heaven,’ Billy Graham said. ‘Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side. I am more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years ago as students at Wheaton College.’Graham, 88, said ‘Ruth and I appreciate, more than we can express, the prayers and letters of encouragement we have received from people across the country and around the world.’‘Our entire family has been home in recent days and it has meant so much to have them at our side during this time,’ he said. ‘We love each one of them dearly and thank God for them.’…”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------