Tammy Faye Messner left this world on July 22nd. God rest her soul.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Tammy Faye Messner, who as Tammy Faye Bakker helped her husband, Jim, build a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire and then watched it collapse in disgrace, has died at the age of 65.
Mrs. Messner, who had battled colon cancer since 1996 that more recently spread to her lungs, died at her home Friday, said Joe Spotts, her booking agent. A family service was held yesterday in a private cemetery, where her ashes were interred, he said.She had frequently spoken about her medical problems, saying she hoped to be an inspiration to others. “Don’t let fear rule your life,” she said. “Live one day at a time, and never be afraid.” But she told well-wishers in a note on her website in May that the doctors had stopped trying to treat the cancer.
In an interview with CNN’s Larry King that aired last week, an emaciated Mrs. Messner, wearing her trademark makeup, said, “I believe when I leave this earth, because I love the Lord, I’m going straight to heaven.” Asked whether she had any regrets, Mrs. Messner said: “I don’t think about it, Larry, because it’s a waste of good brain space.”
For many, the TV image of then-Mrs. Bakker forgiving husband Jim’s infidelities, tears streaking her cheeks with mascara, became a symbol for the wages of greed and hypocrisy in 1980s America.
