Rev. Jerry Falwell Found Unconscious, Dies at 73

Former Moral Majority leader and Liberty University president Rev. Jerry Falwell, 73, was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University Tuesday after missing a school meeting. Rev. Falwell was rushed to Lynchburg General Hospital where he was initially listed in "gravely serious" condition. He was pronounced dead a short time later while receiving emergency medical treatment.

This was not the first health scare for Falwell, who suffered a viral infection in 2005 followed up by an arterial blockage for which he was hospitalized later that same year. During that hospitalization stints were implanted to keep blood flowing through the blocked artery.

Falwell was best known as the televangelist who started the Moral Majority, a group that formed the foundation of the "religious right" in 1980's politics. The group started a conservative movement that swept the nation in 1980 and is credited with helping get Ronald Reagan elected president. Falwell started Liberty University in 1971 and served as its president. Rev. Falwell had his share of controversy over the years. In the wake of the September 11^th attacks, Falwell made one of his most controversial statements on the 700 Club with Pat Roberston. "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say you helped this happen." Falwell later apologized amidst heavy criticism over his remarks.

Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Rev. Jerry Falwell on a 4400-acre campus in Lynchburg, VA. The school is a Christian-centered institution of higher learning aimed at enhancing both the educational and spiritual life of its attendees. For the 2006-2007 school year enrollment topped 9,600 students with another 17,250 students participating in one of Liberty's distance education programs. Liberty University offers degrees in 41 undergraduate programs, 15 distance programs and 30 graduate level programs.

The church Rev. Falwell started in 1965, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA, has grown from an initial membership of 35 to over 24,000. Total yearly earnings for all of the Jerry Falwell ministries total over $200 million.

Liberty University commencement exercises are scheduled for Saturday, May 19. Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the event. Falwell and his wife Macel, who have been married 48 years, have raised three children and are grandparents to eight grandchildren.

Sources:

http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=6899