Ruth Bell Graham: A Legacy of Love

It is June 14, 2007, and I am sitting by the bedside of my mother who is slipping in and out of consciousness. The nurses and doctors tiptoe in and out and monitor her vital signs, while giving me hourly updates. I have the T.V. on and see the news flash across the bottom of the screen "Ruth Bell Graham, dead at age 87". June 14 also happens to be my birthday which is irrelevant. Many things are happening on this day.

As I sit here looking at my 85-year-old mother, I cannot help but wonder what is going on in Mrs. Graham Bell's children's hearts and minds now. Maybe they have mixed emotions. The family stated before her death she was close to going home to heaven, yet I know they will miss her as I will miss my mom.

Mrs. Graham Bell had degenerative osteoarthritis in her back and neck and had been in the bed for months. She contracted pneumonia two weeks before her death and had consulted with her family to stop receiving nutrients through a feeding tube for the last few days of her life.

Ruth Graham Bell grew up in China with her family because her father, L. Nelson Bell, was a missionary doctor stationed there. She went to high school for three years in China and attended Wheaton College in Illinois. This is where she met and fell in love with the Rev. Billy Graham.

They both graduated college and married in 1943.

The Grahams had five children. While Billy Graham was gone for long periods of time preaching, Ruth stayed back to care for and raise their children. She once said, "I'd rather have a little of Bill that a lot of any other man".

In 2003, Mrs. Graham Bell published a book of poetry called "Footprints of a Pilgrim". These are writings about her family and friends.

She was very active behind the scenes of her husband's ministry and also was stayed active in the Ruth and Billy Graham Children's Health Center in Asheville.

She was alert for her birthday on Sunday, June 10. Later, she slipped into a coma and quietly died on June 14.

Billy Graham said he was more in love with his wife today than when they married 63 years ago. She was his confidant and closest friend. She will be buried at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.