Danny Lotz, called "God's Gladiator" by his wife Anne Graham Lotz, passed away in a North Carolina hospital where he was admitted for two days after being found unconscious in his swimming pool.

Lotz, the son-in-law of Billy Graham, had led Bible study for men for the last 30 years in Raleigh and Chapel Hill and also helped found two Southern Baptist Convention Churches.

Anne Graham posted on her Facebook page that her husband "moved to our Father's House."

Rex Hospital, where Lotz was admitted said his heart stopped in the pool, and even though emergency workers were able to restart his heart, he could not recover and was taken off the life support on August 19.

A devoted Christian, a college basketball star, a dentist, Lotz, 78, had been suffering from chronic diabetes for the last 30 years, required three dialysis treatments per week, and lost his sight in one eye and his hearing in one ear.

After serving in Air Force for two years, Lotz was introduced to Anne, and they were married for 49 years. They have three children and three grandchildren.

"He never complained, never slowed down, never gave up, never stopped investing in the lives of others," Anne wrote on the website of AnGeL Ministries.

Anne's website goes on to say, "While active in his Bible studies, churches, and the Fellowship of Christian athletes, his Raleigh dental practice flourished for 40 years with thousands of patients who adored the 'gentle giant.' In recognition of the significant and extraordinary contribution he made to his adopted state, on January 28, 2015, he was presented with the most prestigious civilian award North Carolina offers, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine."

He turned his life over to Christ at the age of 15 after a meeting at the Bowery Mission in lower Manhattan, his wife wrote on the website. He was riding over New York' 59th Street Bridge with his dad and brothers when he made the decision of following Christ, said a story on Billy Graham Evangelist Association website.

Member of the 1957 Tar Heel basketball team, Lotz became a "living legend" in North Carolina for winning national championship that year. After suffering a broken leg he stopped playing basketball, but moved on to form the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in North Carolina at UNC.

He never gave up his passion for collegiate athletics and went with his wife to a Chapel Hill church service for the UNC women's basketball team this last Sunday (August 16).

A Scripture at the end of Anne's article on Lotz reads, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)