A Texas pastor has died from a heart
attack just hours after delivering an Easter
sermon in which he confessed he wished
he had died along with his late wife who
passed away two months prior.
Rev. Earl W. “Buddy” Duggins, 81, of Forest
Home Baptist Church in Kilgore, Texas had
been married to his late wife for 59 years
when she died earlier this year.
Duggins was delivering a passionate
sermon on Sunday, and as he moved
towards the conclusion he explained to
congregants how he had struggled
privately with the passing of his wife,
Connie.
In the sermon, which was live-streamed on
Facebook, he said, “I close with this true
testimony from my heart. I prayed about it
and God told me to get it.”
He continued, “Just about two-and-a-half
months ago my wife of 59 years plus
passed, died. I was by her bedside. I kissed
her lips just seconds before she drew her
last breath. My family was there. My girls,
one of my grandsons and my son-in-law
were there. We of course wept. I said these
words, ‘absent from the body present with
the Lord.”
Duggins admitted that he tried to continue
on as well as he could; he led his wife’s
funeral and tried to put on a brave face.
However, he struggled to overcome the
loss of his lifelong partner.
He told his congregants, “I was having a
difficult time sleeping. I would cry myself
to sleep every night.
“My family stayed with me for a few
nights, then I stayed over at my daughter’s
home for a few nights. They [would] say,
‘how you doing dad?’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m fine.’
“But I would cover up my head in my little
room and I would cry and cry and cry. And
after a while the Lord spoke to my heart,
and I began to thank God.”
Duggins went on to testify that God
comforted him: “The Bible came to my
heart, ‘in everything give thanks, for this is
the will of Christ concerning you.’ And I
wanted to be in God’s will and so I began
to pray. ‘Lord, I thank you for the 59 years
four months, 13 days and one hour that we
had together.”
Then he added, “And then it came to me,
why am I left?”
He said, “And it bothered my heart. Here’s
my wife that we wanted to go together.
And she’s now gone.
“I said, ‘Lord, why am I left?’ And the
answer has come to my heart. ‘I’ve left you
here to do nothing more than to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ that you’ve been
preaching for 55 years.”
He continued, “So I stand today this
resurrection day to tell you, Jesus Christ is
alive. He has helped me. He has blessed
me. I praise His holy name today.”
Following the sermon, Duggins began to
feel poorly, and an ambulance was called
to assist. Medics rushed him to Christus
Good Shepherd hospital, but he died of a
heart attack soon after.
The church’s minister of music, Mark Fried,
has reported, “Buddy and Connie’s
marriage was a wonderful picture of God’s
love. Their 59 years of marriage saw many
blessings, including the birth of their three
beloved daughters, four grandchildren, and
one great-grandchild. Buddy’s family was
his pride and joy.”
He added, “Buddy stood by Connie’s side
through her nine battles with cancer. Their
faith in God saw them through and kept
them close to each other.”
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