10 notable Christian deaths of 2018
Kurt Kaiser – Nov. 12, 2018
Christian music writer Kurt Kaiser, whose six-decades career of songwriting included popular spiritual songs like "Pass It On" and "Oh How He Loves You and Me," died after a lengthy illness at age 83.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Kaiser studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and earned two degrees from Northwestern University.
In 1959, Kaiser moved to Waco, Texas, and joined Word, a notable Christian entertainment and recording company which also featured the work of Christian musicians like Amy Grant and George Beverly Shea.
In addition to composing approximately 300 copyrighted songs, Kaiser also produced and arranged albums for numerous other music stars.
Terry York, professor of Christian ministry and church music at Baylor University's Truett Seminary, told the Waco Tribune-Herald that Kaiser had a powerful impact on many through music.
"He was a remarkable combination of musical excellence that could not be challenged, and heart and an ear for what the youth of American churches wanted to say," York said in November. "Kids would hear a song, have tears in their eyes and then whistle it for the rest of their lives."
