Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" (Rev. 14:13)
1. Donna Douglas died on January 1, 2015, at the age 82, from pancreatic cancer. Donna Douglas played Elly Mae Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies television series. Later in her life she spoke frequently at churches about her Christian faith, and she signed her autograph with the Bible verse Proverbs 3:5-6. For more information read the WSMV.com story about her passing or the tribute to her from GodReports.
2. Andrae Crouch died on January 8, 2015, at the age of 72, from congestive heart failure. He was a gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Andrae Crouch was known by many in the Christian music industry with the endearing label as "the father of modern gospel music". Some of his most famous Christian songs include The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, My Tribute (To God Be the Glory), and Soon and Very Soon.
3. Steve Hayner died on January 31, 2015, at the age of 66, from pancreatic cancer. Steve Hayner was an interdenominational leader who had served as the President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from 1998-2001, and most recently as the President of Columbia Theological Seminary. For more information on Steve Hayner read his obituary by Christianity Today.
4. Rev. Mosie Lister died on February 12, 2015, at the age of 93. Mosie Lister was a Baptist minister and legendary song writer. He wrote over 700 songs, including ones like, How Long Has It Been?, Then I Met the Master, Where No One Stands Alone, Till the Storm Passes By, and I've Been Changed. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1976. You can find out more about Mosie Lister in his obituary at The Singing News or in his Wikipedia Page.
5. Rev. Lyle E. Schaller died on March 18, 2015, at the age of 91, from heart failure. Lyle Schaller was an author and a consultant who advised Protestant churches on growth challenges. "Mr. Schaller had published 55 books since 1964, edited 41 more and visited an estimated 6,000 churches across the country," according to his New York Times obituary.
6. General Eva Burrows was promoted to glory on March 20, 2015, at the age of 85. She was from Australia and she served as the 13th General of The Salvation Army from 1986-1993. She was the second woman in the history of The Salvation Army to serve in the position. You can find out more about General Eva Burrows in her obituary at the Telegraph or her Wikipedia page.
7. Dr. Robert H. Schuller died on April 2, 2015, at the age of 88, from esophageal cancer. Robert H. Schuller was a Christian televangelist and popular Christian author. He hosted The Hour of Power television program from 1970-2010 and was the founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. You can find out more about Robert H. Schuller in his USA Today obituary or his Wikipedia page.
2. Andrae Crouch died on January 8, 2015, at the age of 72, from congestive heart failure. He was a gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Andrae Crouch was known by many in the Christian music industry with the endearing label as "the father of modern gospel music". Some of his most famous Christian songs include The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, My Tribute (To God Be the Glory), and Soon and Very Soon.
3. Steve Hayner died on January 31, 2015, at the age of 66, from pancreatic cancer. Steve Hayner was an interdenominational leader who had served as the President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from 1998-2001, and most recently as the President of Columbia Theological Seminary. For more information on Steve Hayner read his obituary by Christianity Today.
4. Rev. Mosie Lister died on February 12, 2015, at the age of 93. Mosie Lister was a Baptist minister and legendary song writer. He wrote over 700 songs, including ones like, How Long Has It Been?, Then I Met the Master, Where No One Stands Alone, Till the Storm Passes By, and I've Been Changed. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1976. You can find out more about Mosie Lister in his obituary at The Singing News or in his Wikipedia Page.
5. Rev. Lyle E. Schaller died on March 18, 2015, at the age of 91, from heart failure. Lyle Schaller was an author and a consultant who advised Protestant churches on growth challenges. "Mr. Schaller had published 55 books since 1964, edited 41 more and visited an estimated 6,000 churches across the country," according to his New York Times obituary.
6. General Eva Burrows was promoted to glory on March 20, 2015, at the age of 85. She was from Australia and she served as the 13th General of The Salvation Army from 1986-1993. She was the second woman in the history of The Salvation Army to serve in the position. You can find out more about General Eva Burrows in her obituary at the Telegraph or her Wikipedia page.
7. Dr. Robert H. Schuller died on April 2, 2015, at the age of 88, from esophageal cancer. Robert H. Schuller was a Christian televangelist and popular Christian author. He hosted The Hour of Power television program from 1970-2010 and was the founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. You can find out more about Robert H. Schuller in his USA Today obituary or his Wikipedia page.
8. John "Jack" Templeton, Jr. died on May 16, 2015, at the age of 75, from cancer. He had been a pediatric surgeon and the head of The John Templeton Foundation. Jack Templeton was an evangelical Christian who was a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. You can read more about his life in his Christianity Today Obituary.
9. Elisabeth Elliot died on June 15, 2015, at the age of 88, after suffering in her later years from dementia. Elisabeth Elliot was a pioneer Missionary. She produced a radio program Gateway to Joy. She also authored over a dozen Christian books in her life, including the influential Through the Gates of Splendor (1957), an account of the martyrdom of five American missionaries in Ecuador in 1956, which included her first husband Jim Elliot. One of her famous quotes is, "One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime (LogosTalk, In Memory of Elisabeth Elliot: 30 of Her Most Inspiring Quotes, Tyler Smith, June 15, 2015)." You can find out more about her in her obituary done by Christianity Today.
10. Rev. Sen. Clementa C. Pinckney died on June 17, 2015, at the age of 41, in a shooting during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. 8 other people were killed in this tragedy: Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Sharonda Singelton, Cynthia Hurd, Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, Myra Thompson, and Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr. Clementa Pickney served as both a South Carolina state senator and the pastor of the Emanuel AME Church. You can find out more about Clementa Pinckney in his Wikipedia page.
11. Rev. Owen Chadwick died on July 17, 2015, at the age of 99, at his home in Cambridge, England. He was an ordained Anglican Priest and had been a professor and church historian for 30 years at Cambridge University. You can find out more about him in his New York Times Obituary.
12. Cardinal William M. Baum died on July 23, 2015, at the age of 88. He was a Cardinal for 39 years in the Catholic Church and was the longest serving Cardinal in the history of the United States. His ministry included a concern for social justice and ecumenism. You can red more about him in his obituary by the Catholic Review or in his Wikipedia page.
13. Mr. Tiang Kwentianthong died on September 17, 2015 at the age of 61, while being confined in prison. He was a Christian in Laos who was arrested on June 24, 2014 for praying for the healing of a woman he had helped lead to Christ. While in prison he did not receive needed medical treatment for his diabetes. Barnabas Aid has written an article on his life and death.
14. Faye Speer died on October 13, 2015, at the age of 86. She was the daughter of a Nazarene pastor. She and her late husband Brock were singers in the legendary group The Speer Family, that was awarded membership in the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1998. You can read more about her in her obituary at The Singing News.
15. Roberta Edwards died on October 10, 2015, at the age of 55, when she was murdered while serving as a Missionary in Haiti. Roberta Edwards had been an administrator of the Sonlight Children's Home for orphans near Port-au-Prince, Haiti since 2002. She maintained her membership in the Estes Church of Christ in Henderson, Tennessee. You can read more about Roberta Edwards in a Christianity Today article or a Fox News article about her life and death.
16. Rev. Ellsworth Kalas died on November 12, 2015, at the age of 92. He had served as a professor and President of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and also was a pastor for 38 years in the United Methodist Church. You can read more information about Ellsworth Kalas at a website page by Asbury Seminary or in his Wikipedia page.
17. Pete Sumerall died on December 5, 2015, at the age of 62, from a heart attack. Peter Sumerall had been an evangelist, missionary, and the President of LeSea Broadcasting. He was also host of the popular television broadcast called The Harvest Show. You can read more about him at his obituary at Godfruits.
18. LaBreeska Hemphill died on December 9, 2015, at the age of 75. She and her husband Joel (who survives her) founded the gospel singing family group known as The Hemphills in the 1960's. They produced the gospel song of the year in 1981 called "He's Still Working on Me". LaBreeska sang lead on popular songs, including "I Claim the Blood", "Grandma's Rocking Chair", and "Unfinished Task." You can read more about her in her obituary at The Singing News.
19. Vonette Bright died on December 23, 2015, at the age of 89, from acute leukemia. In 1951, Vonette and her late husband Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ, which is known today as Cru. She was an author and had a ministry focused specifically on prayer. She previously served on the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and as a chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Billy Graham wrote her a letter in 2011 and it said, "Your single-minded focus on the power of intercessory prayer has been both an encouragement to my life and a model for the church. Heavenly records will one day reveal the full impact of your prayer life and the teaching ministry in the lives of countless persons who have come to faith in Christ (Christianity Today, Died: Vonette Bright: Co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, Bob Smietna December 23, 2015)."
20. George Meadow Lemon III "Meadowlark Lemon" died on December 27, 2015, at the age of 83. Meadowlark Lemon was a Harlem Globetrotters legend who was known as the "Clown Prince of Basketball". He was also an ordained minister and a traveling Christian evangelist who co-founded Meadowlark Ministries in 1994. In 2003 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. You can read more about him at his obituary on the Christian Examiner.
Dedication: This post is dedicated to some personal Christian friends who passed away in 2015.
Elliott Preston Orr of Columbiaville, Michigan (February 6, 2015)
Kordell Richardson of Lansing, Michigan (June 29, 2015)
Kordell Richardson of Lansing, Michigan (June 29, 2015)
This feature is part of an annual series. All the years of the series can be viewed at these links.
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