Obituaries: Freddie Gage, Anna Fuson

Freddie Gage, 81, died Sept. 12 in Houston. A celebration of his life will be held 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at Sagemont Church in Houston. An evangelist more than six decades, he preached in more than 1,350 churches and crusades and conducted more than 3,000 high school youth rallies, as well as in prisons. Freddie GageAfter suffering burnout and depression in his own life, he also began Wounded Heroes, a Christian psychotherapy program where ministers, their wives and families received help at no charge. LifeWay Christian Resources assumed leadership of the program in 1999. He also founded Teen Liberators—later named Boys and Girls Country—for struggling young people, and Pulpit in the Shadows, a drug rehabilitation ministry in Houston. He was elected president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists in 1984. In 1991, he established Crossover evangelism efforts in the connection with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting which continue to the present. He also was inducted into the initial Evangelists Hall of Faith, created in 2008 by the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara; sons, Daniel, Paul, Rick and Rodney; sisters, Shirley Marcaccio, Marilyn Stewart, Linda Brittain and Sharon Gibson; 10 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Anna Fuson

Anna Fuson, 89, died Sept. 13 in Plainview. She served alongside her husband, O.E., first while farming in the Lamesa area, and then in ministry as he was pastor to congregations in Vealmoor, Sparenburg, Patricia, Andrews, and Tuscon, Ariz. She worked for Buckner’s Children’s Home in Lubbock 11 years before moving to Plainview in 1988. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Plainview. She was preceded in death by her husband and three brothers. She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Andrews; three grandchildren, including Kayla Peltoma, finance director of Baptist Standard Publishing; and four great-grandchildren.