Jean Ford, last surviving sibling of Billy Graham, dies at 91
Jean Ford was the youngest of the four Graham siblings. She had a long presence in Charlotte's faith community.
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Jean Ford’s passing marks the end of a generation in the famously evangelistic family; she considered her older brother Billy ‘almost perfect’
Jean Ford took great joy in sharing her faith, whether speaking to groups or in one-on-one conversations. She passed away surrounded by family. (Photo courtesy of the family)
by Ken Garfield
Jean Ford, who was evangelist Billy Graham’s last surviving sibling and a long and gentle presence in Charlotte’s faith community, died Thursday morning after a stroke. She was 91.
She had been in declining health since around Christmas, but had recently made something of a comeback. She and her husband, evangelist Leighton Ford, shared a hot dog lunch Tuesday at Park Road Soda Shoppe. She was talking about connecting with her personal trainer. Though her deep faith prepared her for what was to come, she told her family she wasn’t ready.
“I do not feel hopeless,” she told her daughter, Debbie Gourley, this week. “I can still make progress.”
The former Jean Graham was the youngest of the four Graham children, all of whom were raised on a dairy farm in south Charlotte. She called her older brother “Billy Frank,” and throughout their lives said she considered him “almost perfect.” With 14 years separating them, she said it was like having a second parent.
Bily Graham, the oldest of the four children, died in 2018 at age 99. Next in age came Catherine Graham McElroy, who died in 2006 at 86. Melvin Graham died in 2003 at 78.
Funeral plans are incomplete.
In this family photo, Jean Ford stands between her brother, the late Billy Graham (left), and husband Leighton Ford. (Photo courtesy of Leighton Ford Ministries)
Her husband and son, Leighton and Kevin Ford, run Charlotte-based Leighton Ford Ministries, which mentors young Christian leaders around the world. Leighton and Jean Ford have long been active at Myers Park Presbyterian Church.
The Fords’ two adult children, Kevin Ford and Debbie Gourley, live in Charlotte. They lost their oldest child, Sandy, in 1981 during heart surgery. He was 21, a junior at UNC Chapel Hill and a cross-country runner active in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
Jean Ford was content to cede the limelight to her brother, and then to her husband and son. But whether she was speaking to church groups or a reporter, she wasn’t shy about sharing her faith.
“To become a child of God means a relationship, and it’s a secure relationship that doesn’t depend on illness or it doesn’t depend on the weather,” she once said in an article that appears on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website.
Former Charlotte Observer religion editor Ken Garfield covered the Graham ministry and family for more than a decade. Reach him at garfieldken3129@gmail.com.
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