c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Aram and Basyle (“Boz”) Tchividjian (sounds like “religion”), two of evangelist Billy Graham’s 19 grandsons, have compiled a book of anecdotes about how their grandfather’s ministry touched the lives of average people across the globe.

In an interview, the two authors of “Invitation: Billy Graham and the Lives God Touched” talked about how their famous evangelist grandfather, who turns 90 on Nov. 7, and his late wife Ruth affected their own lives.

Boz, 40, is an assistant professor of law at Liberty University School of Law, and Aram, 33, runs Loudmouth Creative, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Web site design and programming company. Their mother, Gigi, is Graham’s eldest daughter.

Their comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What would you say is your favorite memory of how Billy Graham has touched you as a grandfather?

Aram: I remember going to visit him when he was down (in Florida) vacationing. His assistant had actually put him in the Ritz-Carlton. He was there for one day. He looked around and it was like, “This is way too nice. We need to leave.”

Here he is, he’s Billy Graham, this world-famous guy. A lot of people tend to think, “Hey, I’m entitled to the nicest stuff.” He’s just so totally the opposite of that.

Boz: He invited me to go to the Republican National Convention with him in 1988 in New Orleans and I went down with a friend. We got to his room and Daddy Bill opened the door. He was in his pajamas. He invited us in. I could see he had been sitting on his bed and his Bible was open. He could be probably with the president, the vice president, and he chose to be with his Heavenly Father.

Q: Your grandfather was obviously on the road a lot during his decades of ministry _ how much time did you get to spend with him?

Aram: Almost every summer I can think of growing up, we spent in Montreat, N.C., for about six weeks and I saw him every summer. Maybe he was only there part of the summer.

Boz: We probably saw them less than a lot of grandchildren see their grandparents but, on the flip side, the fact that I was able to be almost 40 years old when my grandmother died is a blessing I know that not a lot of other people have.

Q: Did you get to do typical things one might do with a grandfather or was his schedule too busy for that?

Aram: I remember going on walks down the mountain, picking blackberries, those kinds of things. Just generally sitting around as a kid and him telling stories or just talking with him on our porch in Florida, going out to eat at Morrison’s Cafeteria or Red Lobster.

Boz: We did things that were normal, everyday things _ go out to dinner, spend time in the backyard when he would come to south Florida, ride on the Intracoastal (Waterway) in a sailboat.

Q: Your grandfather was recently briefly hospitalized after tripping over one of his dogs. How is he doing?

Aram: I asked my mom. She said he was doing fine. He was in good spirits. He said he was very sore but he hadn’t broken any bones. She said the nurse that tried to catch him sustained worse injuries than he did because I think she broke her finger.

Q: You dedicated the book to your grandparents calling them “Daddy Bill” and “Tai Tai.” Where did your grandmother’s nickname come from?

Boz: It means “old woman” in Chinese. Why we were calling our grandmother “old woman” I’m not sure.

Q: What do you recall most about them as a couple?

Boz: My grandmother was a huge character. Without her, there would not have been a him. There were times I saw them disagree with each other, times I saw them hugging on each other. There was a quiet love between the two of them. They would hold hands for a long time.

I remember the last time I saw my grandmother, just about a month before she died. She was just real crumpled up, lying in bed. I’ll never forget the last vision I have of them _ him leaning over and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

He told me after she died, “We had this thing every day at 4 o’clock. Wherever I was in the world I would call her.” He said, “I still find myself at 4 o’clock … reaching for the phone.”

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A photo of Aram and Basyle Tchividjian is available via https://religionnews.com