Graham says goodbye to wife, Ruth, in a private burial ceremony
CHARLOTTE (Winston-Salem Journal) - The Rev. Billy Graham prayed then kissed a red rose and placed it on Ruth Graham’s coffin during a private burial yesterday.
Graham, 88, told his children and grandchildren that he was “looking forward to the ... next service here” when Graham, the world’s most famous evangelist, is buried next to his wife, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Ruth Graham died Thursday at 87 after a long illness. She was remembered Saturday during a public service in Montreat as a spiritual stalwart and modest mentor.
She was buried at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway in the woodsy Prayer Garden at the Billy Graham Library.
Her family sang “Amazing Grace” and heard messages from Billy Graham and two ministers, according to Graham spokesman Larry Ross, who released an account of the service.
“The Bible says the Lord has prepared a place for us, and I know He has prepared a home for her - I hope she saves a room for me,” Graham said of his wife of almost 64 years.
Ruth Graham’s coffin was adorned with a bed of lilies, a Christian symbol for resurrection.
Billy Graham, like his wife, will be buried in a birch plywood coffin built by inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La. The Graham’s son Franklin made the request after seeing the coffins on a visit to the Angola prison and being struck by their simplicity, according to a statement from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Starting today, visitors to the library can view Ruth Graham’s grave site.
Graham, 88, told his children and grandchildren that he was “looking forward to the ... next service here” when Graham, the world’s most famous evangelist, is buried next to his wife, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Ruth Graham died Thursday at 87 after a long illness. She was remembered Saturday during a public service in Montreat as a spiritual stalwart and modest mentor.
She was buried at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway in the woodsy Prayer Garden at the Billy Graham Library.
Her family sang “Amazing Grace” and heard messages from Billy Graham and two ministers, according to Graham spokesman Larry Ross, who released an account of the service.
“The Bible says the Lord has prepared a place for us, and I know He has prepared a home for her - I hope she saves a room for me,” Graham said of his wife of almost 64 years.
Ruth Graham’s coffin was adorned with a bed of lilies, a Christian symbol for resurrection.
Billy Graham, like his wife, will be buried in a birch plywood coffin built by inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La. The Graham’s son Franklin made the request after seeing the coffins on a visit to the Angola prison and being struck by their simplicity, according to a statement from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Starting today, visitors to the library can view Ruth Graham’s grave site.
posted by BP News Bureau | 12:50 PM
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