Reverend Billy Graham, 99, passed away at his Western North Carolina home on Feb. 21, 2018.
Rev. Graham was known as “America’s Pastor” and was born on November 7, 1918, in Charlotte, NC. He attended Bob Jones University (then Bob Jones College), now located in Greenville, SC, and received an honorary doctorate from the institution.
He passed away at his home in Montreat, just east of Asheville.
Here are 5 facts you probably didn’t know about Rev. Graham:
- He was a close ally of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. + in 1952, Graham removed ropes separating black and whites in his audience in Jackson, Mississippi.
- Rev. Graham has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (he was the 1,000th person to receive one) + also received an honorary knighthood in 2001.
- Graham founded The Cove, a Bible training and conference center in Asheville, in the 1980s. The first seminars were held there in 1988.
- His favorite birthday cake? Lemon with lard icing.
- He personally met with 12 presidents, from Truman to Obama. He played golf with President Ford in Charlotte in 1974, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan in 1983.
