Maude Aimee Humbard — wife of the late Rev. Rex Humbard, the world's first televangelist — was the force that held her family together.
"My dad would say, ‘I'm the head of the household. Your mother is the neck that turns it.' He was right. She was a woman who ultimately respected Dad, but she was in charge," said Charles Humbard, the couple's youngest child. "She had a way of getting things done. She was feared and respected, but she was one of the most loving and giving people I've ever known."
Mrs. Humbard, 89, died Monday in Lantana, Fla., after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Born on May 22, 1922, to Maude (Jones) and Charles Henry Jones in Dallas, Mrs. Humbard grew to become an accomplished gospel singer. She met her husband of 65 years backstage before a performance at a Dallas-area auditorium.
After the two married on August 2, 1942, Mrs. Humbard joined the revivalist preacher and his evangelist parents on the road, working on pioneer churches and conducting revivals and crusades.
In 1952, the couple left the family ministry and settled in Akron. They built the Cathedral of Tomorrow, one of America's first megachurches, in 1958.
The church is now home to Ernest Angley Ministries in Cuyahoga Falls.
The church name was the same as their television and radio ministry, which aired for more than 37 years.
The television ministry was instrumental in promoting an independent Christian television station in Canton that later became the flagship for the Trinity Broadcast Network.
By the mid-1970s, the Cathedral of Tomorrow weekly Sunday broadcast aired on 2,000 television stations with more than 25 million people worldwide tuning in to hear the Rev. Humbard's familiar admonition: "What America needs is an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost, God-sent, soul-savin', devil-hatin' revival!"
The program featured gospel music, rendered by popular groups such as the Cathedral Quartet and Mrs. Humbard.
The couple's eldest son, Rex Jr., said that although most people knew his mother as an "onstage person," with a God-anointed voice, few knew her as the caregiver that she was.
"My mom would do whatever she could to help anyone in need. I can't tell you how many times she would take clothes and food to people who needed assistance," Rex Humbard Jr. said.
"Her entire life was spent in service. She served alongside my Dad. I don't think he could have been as successful as he was without her," he said. "She served our family as the matriarch. When Dad was heavily involved in ministry, Mom really became the backbone of our family. She was a strong person who found joy in serving others."
The Humbards moved their ministry to Florida in 1985. The Rev. Rex Humbard died in 2007 at the age of 88.
In addition to Rex Jr. and Charles, survivors include another son, Don; a daughter, Aimee Elizabeth; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service iwas held on Saturday, May 19 in Boynton Beach, Fla. A private graveside service was planned for following week at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fairlawn, Ohio, where Mrs. Humbard will be buried next to her husband in the Humbard family plot.
"When she drew her last breath, it was OK with us because we knew she was on her journey home to be with the Lord," Rex Humbard Jr. said. "She loved my Dad dearly; she loved her family; she loved other people and she loved the work God called her to do."
"My dad would say, ‘I'm the head of the household. Your mother is the neck that turns it.' He was right. She was a woman who ultimately respected Dad, but she was in charge," said Charles Humbard, the couple's youngest child. "She had a way of getting things done. She was feared and respected, but she was one of the most loving and giving people I've ever known."
Mrs. Humbard, 89, died Monday in Lantana, Fla., after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Born on May 22, 1922, to Maude (Jones) and Charles Henry Jones in Dallas, Mrs. Humbard grew to become an accomplished gospel singer. She met her husband of 65 years backstage before a performance at a Dallas-area auditorium.
After the two married on August 2, 1942, Mrs. Humbard joined the revivalist preacher and his evangelist parents on the road, working on pioneer churches and conducting revivals and crusades.
In 1952, the couple left the family ministry and settled in Akron. They built the Cathedral of Tomorrow, one of America's first megachurches, in 1958.
The church is now home to Ernest Angley Ministries in Cuyahoga Falls.
The church name was the same as their television and radio ministry, which aired for more than 37 years.
The television ministry was instrumental in promoting an independent Christian television station in Canton that later became the flagship for the Trinity Broadcast Network.
By the mid-1970s, the Cathedral of Tomorrow weekly Sunday broadcast aired on 2,000 television stations with more than 25 million people worldwide tuning in to hear the Rev. Humbard's familiar admonition: "What America needs is an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost, God-sent, soul-savin', devil-hatin' revival!"
The program featured gospel music, rendered by popular groups such as the Cathedral Quartet and Mrs. Humbard.
The couple's eldest son, Rex Jr., said that although most people knew his mother as an "onstage person," with a God-anointed voice, few knew her as the caregiver that she was.
"My mom would do whatever she could to help anyone in need. I can't tell you how many times she would take clothes and food to people who needed assistance," Rex Humbard Jr. said.
"Her entire life was spent in service. She served alongside my Dad. I don't think he could have been as successful as he was without her," he said. "She served our family as the matriarch. When Dad was heavily involved in ministry, Mom really became the backbone of our family. She was a strong person who found joy in serving others."
The Humbards moved their ministry to Florida in 1985. The Rev. Rex Humbard died in 2007 at the age of 88.
In addition to Rex Jr. and Charles, survivors include another son, Don; a daughter, Aimee Elizabeth; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service iwas held on Saturday, May 19 in Boynton Beach, Fla. A private graveside service was planned for following week at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fairlawn, Ohio, where Mrs. Humbard will be buried next to her husband in the Humbard family plot.
"When she drew her last breath, it was OK with us because we knew she was on her journey home to be with the Lord," Rex Humbard Jr. said. "She loved my Dad dearly; she loved her family; she loved other people and she loved the work God called her to do."
Maude Aimee Humbard — wife of the late Rev. Rex Humbard, the world's first televangelist — was the force that held her family together.
"My dad would say, ‘I'm the head of the household. Your mother is the neck that turns it.' He was right. She was a woman who ultimately respected Dad, but she was in charge," said Charles Humbard, the couple's youngest child. "She had a way of getting things done. She was feared and respected, but she was one of the most loving and giving people I've ever known."
Mrs. Humbard, 89, died Monday in Lantana, Fla., after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Born on May 22, 1922, to Maude (Jones) and Charles Henry Jones in Dallas, Mrs. Humbard grew to become an accomplished gospel singer. She met her husband of 65 years backstage before a performance at a Dallas-area auditorium.
After the two married on August 2, 1942, Mrs. Humbard joined the revivalist preacher and his evangelist parents on the road, working on pioneer churches and conducting revivals and crusades.
In 1952, the couple left the family ministry and settled in Akron. They built the Cathedral of Tomorrow, one of America's first megachurches, in 1958.
The church is now home to Ernest Angley Ministries in Cuyahoga Falls.
The church name was the same as their television and radio ministry, which aired for more than 37 years.
The television ministry was instrumental in promoting an independent Christian television station in Canton that later became the flagship for the Trinity Broadcast Network.
By the mid-1970s, the Cathedral of Tomorrow weekly Sunday broadcast aired on 2,000 television stations with more than 25 million people worldwide tuning in to hear the Rev. Humbard's familiar admonition: "What America needs is an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost, God-sent, soul-savin', devil-hatin' revival!"
The program featured gospel music, rendered by popular groups such as the Cathedral Quartet and Mrs. Humbard.
The couple's eldest son, Rex Jr., said that although most people knew his mother as an "onstage person," with a God-anointed voice, few knew her as the caregiver that she was.
"My mom would do whatever she could to help anyone in need. I can't tell you how many times she would take clothes and food to people who needed assistance," Rex Humbard Jr. said.
"Her entire life was spent in service. She served alongside my Dad. I don't think he could have been as successful as he was without her," he said. "She served our family as the matriarch. When Dad was heavily involved in ministry, Mom really became the backbone of our family. She was a strong person who found joy in serving others."
The Humbards moved their ministry to Florida in 1985. The Rev. Rex Humbard died in 2007 at the age of 88.
In addition to Rex Jr. and Charles, survivors include another son, Don; a daughter, Aimee Elizabeth; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service iwas held on Saturday, May 19 in Boynton Beach, Fla. A private graveside service was planned for following week at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fairlawn, Ohio, where Mrs. Humbard will be buried next to her husband in the Humbard family plot.
"When she drew her last breath, it was OK with us because we knew she was on her journey home to be with the Lord," Rex Humbard Jr. said. "She loved my Dad dearly; she loved her family; she loved other people and she loved the work God called her to do."
"My dad would say, ‘I'm the head of the household. Your mother is the neck that turns it.' He was right. She was a woman who ultimately respected Dad, but she was in charge," said Charles Humbard, the couple's youngest child. "She had a way of getting things done. She was feared and respected, but she was one of the most loving and giving people I've ever known."
Mrs. Humbard, 89, died Monday in Lantana, Fla., after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Born on May 22, 1922, to Maude (Jones) and Charles Henry Jones in Dallas, Mrs. Humbard grew to become an accomplished gospel singer. She met her husband of 65 years backstage before a performance at a Dallas-area auditorium.
After the two married on August 2, 1942, Mrs. Humbard joined the revivalist preacher and his evangelist parents on the road, working on pioneer churches and conducting revivals and crusades.
In 1952, the couple left the family ministry and settled in Akron. They built the Cathedral of Tomorrow, one of America's first megachurches, in 1958.
The church is now home to Ernest Angley Ministries in Cuyahoga Falls.
The church name was the same as their television and radio ministry, which aired for more than 37 years.
The television ministry was instrumental in promoting an independent Christian television station in Canton that later became the flagship for the Trinity Broadcast Network.
By the mid-1970s, the Cathedral of Tomorrow weekly Sunday broadcast aired on 2,000 television stations with more than 25 million people worldwide tuning in to hear the Rev. Humbard's familiar admonition: "What America needs is an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost, God-sent, soul-savin', devil-hatin' revival!"
The program featured gospel music, rendered by popular groups such as the Cathedral Quartet and Mrs. Humbard.
The couple's eldest son, Rex Jr., said that although most people knew his mother as an "onstage person," with a God-anointed voice, few knew her as the caregiver that she was.
"My mom would do whatever she could to help anyone in need. I can't tell you how many times she would take clothes and food to people who needed assistance," Rex Humbard Jr. said.
"Her entire life was spent in service. She served alongside my Dad. I don't think he could have been as successful as he was without her," he said. "She served our family as the matriarch. When Dad was heavily involved in ministry, Mom really became the backbone of our family. She was a strong person who found joy in serving others."
The Humbards moved their ministry to Florida in 1985. The Rev. Rex Humbard died in 2007 at the age of 88.
In addition to Rex Jr. and Charles, survivors include another son, Don; a daughter, Aimee Elizabeth; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service iwas held on Saturday, May 19 in Boynton Beach, Fla. A private graveside service was planned for following week at Rose Hill Cemetery in Fairlawn, Ohio, where Mrs. Humbard will be buried next to her husband in the Humbard family plot.
"When she drew her last breath, it was OK with us because we knew she was on her journey home to be with the Lord," Rex Humbard Jr. said. "She loved my Dad dearly; she loved her family; she loved other people and she loved the work God called her to do."
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