May 4, 2009 7:53 pm US/Eastern
Thousands Bid Last Farewell To Rev. Timothy Wright
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
-
-
On April 23 the grammy-nominated gospel singer and composer Timothy Wright died at the age of 61, said music agent Will Bogle.
CBS
There were tears and tributes aplenty in Brooklyn Monday as thousands of mourners bid an emotional final farewell to gospel singer Reverend Timothy Wright.
The man known as the "Godfather of Gospel Music" was laid to rest Monday.
Rev. Wright died last week, 10 months after a car accident that killed his wife and grandson.
At Pilgrim Renaissance Cathedral, Rev. Timothy Wright's five sons said their final goodbyes.
Wright had been the only survivor of a head-on collision with a drunk driver that claimed the lives of his 14-year-old grandson, D.J., and his wife Betty.
Reverend Al Sharpton remembered how Betty would try to get her husband to make time for himself.
"Every once in a while, Betty would call me and say, 'Call your friend and tell him to slow down,'" Sharpton said. "I would call him and say, 'Man you need to slow down,' and he'd say, 'Betty called you again.' He'd say, 'look who's talking.'"
Rev. Wright never slowed down, and while he made it to the top of the world of gospel music, he'll be remembered for his helping hand.
"He's been nominated for Grammy awards, he won gospel music awards and he's traveled, subsequently, all around the world," friend Will Bogle says. "But he was always available for anyone who called him – anybody."
But for the last 10 months, Rev. Wright was in the fight of his life, paralyzed from the neck down.
In October he told CBS 2 that he held no malice towards the drunk driver, but missed the childhood sweetheart he'd married 37 years ago.
"I really miss her so very much, and I didn't lose her, because I know where she is," Wright said. "She's in the arms of the Lord."
More than 4,000 people packed the church to celebrate his life, and his friends say heaven has a new angel.
"The choir in heaven is going to be one awesome choir – I wish I was the manager of that choir," friend Bobby Banks said. "Betty was a phenomenal person, D.J. was great, and he's with the Lord. And the people who preceded him, they are going to have a great time there."
Rev. Wright wrote more than 800 gospel songs and performed all over the world. All five of his sons are musicians, and say their mission is to carry on their parents' legacy of music.
The Reverend Wright was buried at Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale, beside his wife and grandson.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Looming Storm Likely To Bury NYC, Suburbs 41 mins ago 
NYS Senate Votes To Immediately Expel Monserrate 6 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments