Thoughts on Kingdom, Church, and Grace from an American living in Hong Kong

Friday, January 14, 2011

In Memorium: "Touched by an Angel's" John Dye

Just wanted to note the sad passing of actor John Dye at the tragic age of 47.  Dye is primarily remembered  for teaming up with Della Reese and Roma Downey as the angel "Andrew" for 9 seasons of the CBS show Touched by an Angel.

When Tammy, Gabriel, and I first moved to Boulder Colorado 11 years ago we didn't have a church family yet.   Being new to the area, we used to joke that for the first few weeks there, the show Touched by an Angel became our weekly "church" meeting; and Dye's "Andrew" was a favorite .

We loved that show!  Week after week people were shown that there is a God who loves them, and even though the world is hard, to have hope because HE has overcome the world. 

The clip I include is from an episode called 151st Psalm.  I must have watched this episode five or six times and can't get through it without shedding tears. A boy with Cystic Fibrosis is dying and his mother has lost her faith in God.  At the end, Dye's character takes the boy home to heaven as his mother sings the song she has written to God that despite tragedy, she will sing of His love!  My heart sores and is torn every time I watch it.



Dye character was the "Angel of Death", but in a much more positive light, he would prepare people for eternity.  As Dye himself has entered eternity, I trust that he is now in the hands of our Father. Good bye and God Speed John Dye...

2 comments:

singohmuse said...

I just found this blog because I was about to write my own about John. I attended his memorial service this past Saturday (the 22nd) in his hometown of Amory, and it really touched me. I've been a fan of John ever since I watched him for the first time on Touched by an Angel when I was little. Roma Downey was there at the service (as well as creator/producer Martha Williamson), and you could really tell that Roma was especially hurting a lot over John's death. I got to meet Roma, and while she was so sweet and kind, you could just see that she was truly affected by it even moreso than some of the others.

Steve H. said...

"Singohmuse": Thank you so much for sharing that anecdote. John's role on that show (as well as the show itself) was such an inspiration to us. I'm glad you had the opportunity to attend the memorial service.