EDITORIAL: Who will be the next Billy Graham? No one.

We can say without hyperbole that Rev. Billy Graham was one of the most important figures of the 20th Century, and a steadying influence on the 21st.

We in Western North Carolina proudly claimed him as one of our own.

We will miss him.

We will miss his wisdom.

Over a lifetime he preached to millions of people and touched millions more with newspaper columns, radio and television broadcasts and more via a score of best-selling books.

He was a remarkable man we were fortunate to have walk among us for so long.

MORE:Evangelist Billy Graham dies at 99

MORE: A list of Billy Graham's many crusades

He was remarkable among his peers as well. The number of well-known evangelicals who climbed into the public spotlight and fell, Icarus-like, over the years is lengthy to the point a Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard or James Bakker seems more the rule than the exception. Graham’s virtual lone moment of scandal came when he got a little too close to Richard Nixon and some of that man’s tarnish rubbed off on him in the form of audiotapes containing unkind comments toward Jews.

Graham repeatedly apologized, and citations by the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute for his contributions to race relations and honors by the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith and the National Conference of Christians and Jews for fostering understanding among all faiths have helped close that briefly-open wound.

Toward the end of his days, he saw fit to inject his voice into the Amendment One controversy, and the Chick-fil-A dustup. Do we agree with those moves? No. We never thought we’d see Graham’s name in the same sentence as “Chick-fil-A,’’ but there it is.

The measure of a life doesn’t come down to one or two incidents.

What was the measure of Billy Graham’s life?

With grace and steadfastness, Graham dealt with the core issues of our existence: Why are we here? Where will we go?

In answer to those questions, he offered a message of hope. The haunting lyrics that echoed around countless coliseums, stadiums and other venues – “Just as I am’’ – brought home what set Graham apart. He was inclusive, encouraging people to join regardless of their baggage, in a time when religion often was practicing exclusion.

He was inviting people in, when others were looking for reasons to throw people out. He became less political as religion became more political. He was a rock in a world marked by troubles too countless to keep track of.

Some years ago local columnist Patrick Miller crystallized an integral part of Graham’s message, saying “redemption -- the chance to be pulled from the wreckage of our own follies -- speaks to the deepest part of our hearts and souls.’’

Rev. Graham rarely disappointed us. While his name became associated with some charged political issues quite late in his life, for the bulk of it he did not let himself drift into the predictable knee-jerk camps of left and right. That’s why when he was asked to opine on the weighty issue of the moment, you knew he’d be worth listening to; whether you agreed with the answer or not, you knew it to be thought-out and honest.

We leave the topic of Billy Graham with this note.

As he entered the twilight of his career, battling illnesses ranging from Parkinson's disease to fluid on the brain and prostate cancer, he soldiered on without parallel. But it was worth noting that this question came up and was almost immediately answered:

Who will be the next Billy Graham?

No one.

Not only was Billy Graham a unique vintage of the American character, he was also the vintage of a unique time. He caught the wave of the communications revolution, riding new technology with an age-old message. He hit his stride as America entered a post-war boom that will likely never be rivaled.

Mark Noll of Wheaton College in Illinois told The Associated Press, “So many different things went into the making of the influential figure that he was. It’s hard to imagine they would come together in exactly the same way again.’’

We can only be thankful they came together once as they did. Rev. Billy Graham’s legacy is one that rings true of words too often used casually: Values, character and faith.

He gave us inspiration, and he gave us hope. If nothing else, he gave us this:

In a world that is too commonly the province of charlatans and con artists, Billy Graham showed us what the real deal, the genuine article, looks like.

We are better off because of Billy Graham.

We shall not see his likes pass this way again soon.