Susan Alamo

Susan Alamo, née Edith Opal Horn (April 25, 1925 – April 8, 1982) was an American religious figure, cofounder with her husband of the Tony & Susan Alamo Christian Foundation.

Life

Susan Alamo, born Edith Opal Horn, was born in Alma, Arkansas. Twice married and with a daughter, she came to Hollywood in the attempt to become an actress.[1] Converting to Christianity, she became an itinerant evangelist before meeting Mark Hoffman, born Bernard Lazar Hoffman, an aspiring pop singer, also known as Marcus Abad.[2]

After divorcing their respective spouses, the couple married in a 1966 Las Vegas ceremony, legally changing their names to Tony and Susan Alamo.[3]

The couple founded the Tony & Susan Alamo Christian Foundation as a Christian street ministry in Southern California. The couple moved to Arkansas, using their religious followers as volunteer labour for a variety of business interests, including Nashville's largest country and western clothing store.[4]

Death & aftermath

Susan Alamo died of breast cancer in 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the City of Faith hospital. In the reported belief that she would rise from the dead,[5] her embalmed body was kept on display for six months,[1] before being entombed in a heart-shaped marble mausoleum on church property.[6]

In 1991 the government confiscated the property, finding when they arrived that Susan's body had been removed by her husband. Her estranged daughter, Christhiaon Coie, brought a suit against Tony for stealing the body, and her stepfather obtained a court order for the body to be returned.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Guy Lancaster, Tony Alamo profile, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
  2. ↑ Ruth A. Tucker, Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement, p. 358
  3. ↑ Fisher, G.R. & Goedelman, M.K. (2001). "Remember the Alamo!". Personal Freedom Outreach. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  4. ↑ Karl Keating, Catholicism and fundamentalism: the attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians", Ignatius Press, 1988, p. 115
  5. ↑ J. Gordon Melton (ed.), Encyclopedia handbook of cults in America, Garland Pub., 1992, p. 187
  6. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report, 2008
  7. ↑ James A. Beverley, ed., Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions, Thomas Nelson Inc, 2009
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