CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It is a young George Beverly Shea singing in a corner display of the Billy Graham Library -- the way he did almost 70 years ago when the Rev. Billy Graham heard him and invited him to join his young ministry.
It's a voice that reached into the hearts of millions over the last 70 years, including Randy Conat.
"As a child I remember watching TV and hearing George Beverly Shea and Billy Graham--they were just hand and glove, you couldn't have one without the other," Conat said Wednesday.
Those who knew him best will remember Shea as much for his hearty laugh and giving spirit.
Cissie Lynch is Billy Graham's granddaughter.
"He was a humble man, he was a funny man. And a great sense of humor to be around, and that was important to my grandfather all those years," she said.
"I got to know him very well, and he was just a pleasure to be around," said Ken Barun, the chief of staff at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Barun is a relative newcomer to the Billy Graham ministry, but it was Shea's genuine humility that will stay with him.
Whether he intended to or not, Shea helped Graham create a ministry that set the course of modern Christian evangelism.
Ken Garfield covered religion for the Charlotte Observer for 12 years.
"When you went to a Billy Graham Crusade you not just heard a sermon and an altar call, but you were entertained and inspired in a way that was consistent for half a century," Garfield said.
Shea was the recipient of 10 Grammy nominations, a Grammy Award in 1965, and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammy organization in 2011.
Shea often told a story of a trooper stopping him for speeding.
"He said, 'Mr. Shea, my grandmother would shoot me if I gave you a speeding ticket.' He said, 'Sir you're just going to have to slow down and remember, you can't drive your age,'" Graham said.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Shea died in Asheville after a brief illness.
He leaves behind a wife and two children.
A funeral for Shea will be 3 p.m. Sunday at Anderson Auditorium.
For more information about him, click here.