CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The beloved wife of the Reverend Billy Graham will be laid to rest today after a private family service.
Ruth Graham will be buried at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. A public service was held yesterday. Graham died Thursday at the age of 87 after battling a long illness.
Her casket was made by a Louisiana prisoner at the request of Graham's son Franklin, who saw the coffins on a visit to the Angola prison and was struck by their simplicity.
The coffins are made of birch plywood and lined with a foam mattress pad covered with fabric. Brass handles are on the sides, while a cross adorns the top.
The convicted murder who made the caskets says he was honored when asked to make them for both Billy and Ruth Graham. The prisoner, Richard Liggett died in March from cancer. He too was buried in 1 of his meticulously crafted coffins.
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