By Robyn Collins
Since his life-threatening stroke in 2013, Randy Travis has made very few public appearances, including a surprise appearance at the 2015 ACM Awards, and a Texas funeral in February of this year.
As part of the 2016 induction class of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Travis and his wife, Mary, took the stage. Mary supported and spoke for her husband, who uttered a gentle “thank you.”
“I’ve been asked to take on this daunting task of being the voice for this man who so eloquently put words to melody to make beautiful music for the world to enjoy. He lived and he loved the songs that he wrote and the songs that he sang,” Davis began. “He’s a man of great courage, which you all know. He’s kind, he’s gentle, and he has God-given talents …” Davis recounted her husband’s childhood, his early years in the music business, and the moments when it didn’t seem as though he’d live much longer.
“After spending the months in the hospital when they really said there was no hope, go ahead and pull the plug, I went to his bedside, and I said, ‘Baby, you’ve gotta give me some more fight,’” Davis recalled. “And I knew that he had had a little talk with Jesus, because he squeezed my hand, and a little tear fell down, and I knew that he wasn’t through yet. He’s a wonderful man, a wonderful husband, and I’m blessed beyond measure to get to walk beside him,” she added.
