Daughter of Billy Graham and popular writer Anne Graham Lotz announced that her husband, Danny Lotz, had died on August 19th. Danny died after Anne found him unresponsive in the family’s swimming pool and was admitted in the hospital. He was 78.
Lotz was being treated at Rex Hospital, associated with the University of North Carolina, Raleigh. The hospital said that Lotz’s heart stopped while he was swimming in the family pool. According to the call to 911 emergency dispatch, Anne discovered her husband face-down in the water.
“He’s in the water. He’s huge. I can’t get him out. I’m just trying to hold his head above water,” she said.
On arrival, emergency medical personnel restarted his heart, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
In a tribute post on her website Wednesday, Anne called “Danny Lotz, God’s Gladiator,” and honored her husband, saying, “He was more than a man’s man. He was God’s man who triumphantly finished his race having fought the good fight, and having kept his faith firmly focused on the kingdom of God first.”
She wrote:
Danny and Anne were married for forty-nine years. At the age of fifty Danny developed a severe case of Adult 1 diabetes. For over ten years following his retirement from dentistry he fought the ravages of the disease, earning him the beloved nickname, God’s Gladiator. He lost the sight in one eye and the hearing in one ear. His heart disease required five stents in his arteries. His renal failure dictated three days of dialysis each week, five hours each time. And yet he never complained, never slowed down, never gave up, never stopped investing in the lives of others. As a New Yorker he was plain spoken. As a German he was stubborn. As a Christian he was a compassionate servant leader. He was more than a man’s man. He was God’s man who triumphantly finished his race having fought the good fight, and having kept his faith firmly focused on the kingdom of God first.
He moved to our Father’s House on August 19, 2015 and received the accolade of his Savior, Lord, and King who presented him with the Crown of Righteousness. We salute you, Danny Lotz. And we will never forget you.
Lotz was a leader with Bible Study Fellowship for over 25 years.
