The last living sibling of the late evangelist Billy Graham passed away last week at the age of 91.
Jean Graham Ford had been declining in health since last December and died Thursday morning following a stroke.
"My Aunt Jean loved the Lord Jesus Christ, her family, her church, and the work of God's people around the world. She, along with her husband Dr. Leighton Ford, was always a great encourager to my father throughout his entire ministry. He sought her counsel on many issues throughout his lifetime," Evangelist Franklin Graham wrote on Facebook.
According to CBN News, Jean, the youngest of four siblings, had a 14-year age difference with Billy Graham, whom she called “Billy Frank.” Their other siblings, Catherine Graham McElroy and Melvin Graham passed away in 2006 and in 2003 at 78, respectively.
When she was 11 years old, Jean’s throat was paralyzed due to contracting polio.
"Even at that time in her young life, and faced with the possibility of death as a child, she often said that it would not have bothered her [to die] so much because she knew she was going to heaven. She traced her faith back to her childhood, commenting that Jesus 'was part of our family,'" Graham recalled.
She later attended Wheaton College, where she met her husband Leighton Ford. Ford, who is described as a “powerful evangelist” and served as an associate evangelist with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) for 30 years.
Franklin Graham recalled how his late aunt supported Leighton after their first born, Sandy, died during heart surgery when he was 21 years old.
"We made that decision that night," she said in an interview years later regarding her son's death. "God is good... Even when we weren't feeling that way."
In 1985, the couple launched Leighton Ford Ministries where she served as an evangelist.
Jean also delivered remarks at Billy Graham’s funeral in Charlotte in 2018. At the time, she told attendees that hearing the news of her brother’s death reminded her of the hymn, "Heaven Came Down and Filled My Soul With Glory."
"On February the 21st, Heaven came down and took my brother from me," she said. "One day, Heaven will come down and take me. And I know what [my brother] would want me to say today is, 'Heaven is coming again and would like to take you also.'"
Franklin Graham shared that he is grateful for what God has done in his aunt’s life.
“We are thankful for her life that impacted so many when she would share her testimony, saying, 'Sometimes it's so difficult to trust our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet to me, there's no option. That happened to be ingrained in me, my trust in what He promises; my trust in who I know Him to be.'"
"We will miss her in this life but look forward to eternity together in the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord," he concluded.
Jean is survived by her husband, her son and her daughter.
Image credit: ©Getty Images / Brian Blanco / Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
