Tammy Faye Messner Dies at Age 65

July 21, 2007 — -- Tammy Faye Messner, former wife of televangelist Jim Bakker, has died.

Messner, who was 65, had been battling cancer since 1996, when she was first diagnosed with colon cancer. In 2004, she announced that the disease had spread to her lungs.

Messner's ashes were interred today at a private cemetery, where her family held a service, Messner's booking agent, Joe Spotts, told The Associated Press.

As hosts of the PTL, or Praise the Lord, Club, Messner and her former husband, Jim Bakker, founded a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire.

The Bakkers ministry took in $129 million a year at its peak in 1986. But the couple's fortunes collapsed by the end of the decade, when Bakker was accused of bilking his followers out of $158 million by offering promises of lifetime vacations he could not provide, and of diverting funds to to finance a life of opulence. He was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was released in December 1994.

The couple divorced while he was in prison in 1993, and she married construction magnate Roe Messner, who was the lead contractor for the Bakkers' Christian-themed amusement park, Heritage USA.

Messner spoke openly about her battles with cancer on her Web site, TammyFaye.com, and in television appearances, telling her fans in the final weeks of her life that her doctors had stopped treating her disease.

In a recent appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, Messner appeared emaciated but still wore her signature heavy mascara. She told King her weight had dropped to a mere 65 pounds.

Some criticized the network's decision to air the interview several times as exploitative, but others considered it a useful way to bring attention to the disease.

"People sometimes do a service by talking about things that need to be talked about but aren't," says Bob Lichter, a professor of communication at George Mason University and president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. "People become aware of diseases and the need for treatment when celebrities talk about them."

Approximately 560,000 people will die from cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society.