Tammy Faye Bakker Messner Is/Was Dead
Tammy Faye Messner, whose can-do Christian cheer helped her survive the PTL scandal and forge a second career as a pop-culture queen, died Friday after battling cancer for more than a decade, according to an announcement on her Web site.
She was 65.
Her death also was announced Saturday night on CNN by talk-show host Larry King, who said Tammy Faye died Friday at her home near Kansas City, Mo.
King said he had been contacted by the family and asked to make the announcement.
Here’s a letter she wrote recently
July 16, 2007
My Dear Friends,
It has been such a long time since I’ve written and I am so sorry for the long delay. I have been in bed for almost a year now. I have times when I feel good and times when I feel really bad. But, I have learned one thing about feelings. They have NOTHING TO DO WITH FAITH IN GOD!! He is the SAME yesterday, today and forever. He NEVER changes. That is what the Bible says and God’s word does not lie EVER!
There have been many days when I felt so terrible with my back and stomach, that I have hardly been able to breath. I cry out to the Lord knowing that many of you are praying for me. In spite of it all, I get dressed and go out to eat. I may only be able to eat one bite, or sometimes ten bites, but I swallow each bite in “faith believing”. There are MANY times it doesn’t stay with me long at all, but I keep trying and HE helps me.
My daughter is here a lot of the times to give me my medications and to make sure I don’t forget. When I got sick, she literally moved in and gave me hugs and kisses that are so needful during this period of ones life. She said, “I want to take care of my Mom”. I gave her the last couple weeks off to go home and spend time with her children, James and John. They are well taken care of while Sissy is gone. My girlfriend, Deborah has been staying with me for the past 3 weeks. We have been friends for thirty years, so we know each other well! She gave Tammy Sue some much needed rest and she has taken up where Sissy left off. She will be here for two more weeks. How grateful I am to have such strong, loving, support around me. Then of course, there is my wonderful husband! We moved from Charlotte, N.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. He came here every weekend to build me a new house and when I got here, it was ready to move into, bed and all!! They had it beautiful and it is the most beautiful home I have ever seen. He has wanted to build me a house for 13 years, and I finally let him! His children and grandchildren have come every weekend to visit us, and it is so much fun! Someone I cannot forget is a friend named Daina. She worked so hard, I thought she was going to get sick. Bless her heart. I have to have help eating, bathing, doing my hair, taking my medicine, and help just getting comfortable, which is really hard for me to do.
I try really hard to eat and keep the food down, but sometimes, it is like my throat would just shut down on me, and the food comes right back up. So through all the prayers, I have finally gained some weight. I have gone from 60 pounds, to 65, for which I am very thankful.
I ask in great humbleness that you pray that I will be able to eat without it coming back up. I crave hamburgers and french fries with LOTS of ketchup! When I can eat that again, it will be a day of victory!
In closing, I want you to know that I am praying for you and your loved ones and I am believing God for complete healing. God is a healer of EVERYTHING!
I will let you know when I get to eat my hamburger! HA!
Love,
My prayers and thoughts are with the family, Tammy is now an an Angel in Heaven, as she was here on earth.
I will miss Tammy’s incredible faith in God and her outlandish make up! But I always liked her and thought if I ever met her we could be friends. She liked to laugh and cry. I will always remember her.
Her kids should be proud of themselves.
*warm hugs*
She will be missed by many!
She not only sang the song “You Can Make It”, she has made it.
I wish her family peace and comfort. Her energy will remain with us all until we see her again some day.
Check my blog for more about cancer pain. There’s something about hamburgers & fries that become so important when you can’t have them. My brother craved Burger King. He was able to chew it, then spit it out, but oh how he enjoyed the taste!
Whether you were a fan of Tammy’s or not, noone can deny she was a woman of great faith. May she finally rest in peace.
Complete faith til the end. I only hope that I can be as strong as her when my time comes.