George Beverly Shea, a noted gospel singer and close confidant to evangelical leader Billy Graham, died Tuesday evening after “a brief illness,” according to the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. He was 104.
Shea had been hospitalized after a stroke, association spokesman Brent Rinehart said.
In honoring Shea’s death, the evangelical organization noted that the singer had “carried the Gospel in song to every continent and every state in the Union.”
As a singer, Bev Shea had a great impact on my life, and one of the first songs that I sang in solo was “How Great Thou Art.” Rest in peace, Bev.