Tammy Faye Dies at 65

Tammy Faye Messner, who as Tammy Faye Bakker helped her husband, Jim, build a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire and then saw it collapse in disgrace, has died. She was 65.

Messner, who had battled colon cancer since 1996 that more recently spread to her lungs, died peacefully at her home Friday, said her booking agent, Joe Spotts, in an e-mail to the Associated Press.

A family service was held Saturday in a private cemetery, where her ashes were interred, he said.