[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H6641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RUTH BELL GRAHAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Ruth Bell 
Graham, wife and confidante of the Reverend Billy Graham. Ruth Graham 
died last week at the age of 87, having lived a rich and selfless life 
of service.
  She epitomized the faithful wife and mother and was a close spiritual 
adviser who probably did more than any other human being to make 
possible the global ministry of Billy Graham. I doubt whether we 
exaggerate when we say that Billy Graham could not have been the man he 
is known as today without the unwavering support of his wife.
  While she may not have claimed much of the spotlight in his life, she 
raised a family that to this day is having a tremendous impact on the 
world.
  Reverend Graham paid her the best tribute. He said that Ruth Graham 
was ``the most incredible woman I have ever known.'' And when asked to 
name the finest Christian he had ever met, Billy Graham would always 
say, ``My wife, Ruth.''
  In tribute to her, he said that, ``She was a spiritual giant, whose 
unparalleled knowledge of the Bible and commitment to prayer were a 
challenge and inspiration to everyone who knew her. 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.''
  Despite her declining health in recent years, she always placed her 
husband and family before herself. She gladly accepted a role in the 
Graham family that involved offering support, prayer and encouragement. 
Never one to clamor for the public eye, Ruth nonetheless was a vital 
part of Billy Graham's ministry. She was a bulwark against the demands 
of the endless public involvement of Billy Graham's many 
responsibilities as a worldwide evangelist.
  Ruth Bell Graham was born in China in 1920 to her medical missionary 
parents at a Presbyterian Hospital far north of Shanghai. She spent her 
childhood on the mission field, and sensed a calling to serve God and 
give her life to spread the gospel.
  Ruth connected with her eventual home in North Carolina when she 
completed high school in Montreat, North Carolina, while her parents 
were home from China on furlough. She would later enroll in Wheaton 
College where she met her future husband, the fervent evangelist 
hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina.
  After no small internal struggle over her desire to become a 
missionary, Ruth decided to invest her life in the mission of 
evangelism that so captivated Billy, and they were married in Montreat 
on August 13, 1943.
  As Billy Graham's responsibilities as an evangelist continued to 
grow, Ruth and Billy moved to Montreat near her parents. Here, Ruth 
would raise a family of five children strong and stand behind the man 
who was preaching to millions of people across the world.
  Ruth was a woman who lived the written word and treasured the Bible. 
She enjoyed assisting her husband as he wrote sermons and was an 
accomplished author herself. Over the course of her life, she would 
author or coauthor more than a dozen books.
  She also did not hesitate to start ministries of her own. Always 
concerned with reaching out to those in need, whether her local 
community or the global community, Ruth Graham created the Ruth Bell 
Graham International Children's Health Fund to help the world's 
neediest children and helped create the Ruth and Billy Graham 
Children's Health Center in Asheville.
  Franklin, their son, founded Samaritan's Purse Ministry which is 
based in Boone, North Carolina.
  Ruth enabled and freed her husband to concentrate on his evangelistic 
calling. When he needed someone to turn to, Billy Graham knew that he 
could turn to her for counsel, encouragement and an intellect steeped 
in learning the scripture.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Graham family today as they 
mourn the passing of a peerless wife, sacrificial mother and faithful 
friend. May her memories serve to remind us of the profound meaning of 
a life given in service to God and family.

                          ____________________