Gospel singer and songwriter LaShun Pace dies of organ failure at age 60
Grammy-nominated gospel singer and songwriter LaShun Pace died Monday in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 60 due to organ failure after being on dialysis for the last few years.
Pace was born in Atlanta in 1961. She became known for her role as a founding member of the gospel vocal group The Anointed Pace Sisters in 1988.
Active in the Church of God in Christ, the singing group comprised the Pace sisters — Duranice, Phyllis, June, Melonda, Dejuaii, Leslie, Latrice and Lydia. The sisters launched their singing careers doing performances in church and local talent shows, according to the Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music.
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Pace went on to have success as a solo artist. Her debut album, He Lives, found commercial success in 1991 and featured her song “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”
The Anointed Pace Sisters’ first recording for a nationally distributed label came in 1992 with the album U-Know. The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music notes that the album stayed on the Billboard charts for over a year.
LeShun Pace signed with EMI Gospel in 2004 and released her first CD, It’s My Time, in 2005
The Anointed Pace Sisters and LeShun pace have received Grammy nominations for their songs.
A celebration of Pace’s life will be held April 2 at Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell, Georgia. All are welcome to join and are encouraged to wear pink.
Lydia Pace told 11Alive that Pace was on dialysis for five years and died at an Atlanta area hospital.
Before finding success as a solo artist, Pace once spent her days traveling alongside the well-known singer, choir director and evangelist Rev. Gene Martin and the Action Revival Team, according to The Christian Broadcasting Network.
In 1996, she released a third studio album titled A Wealthy Place, which featured the song “Act Like You Know” with artist Karen Clark Sheard.
Pace released eight studio albums over her career and was featured in Steve Martin’s 1992 film “Leap Of Faith” as the “Angel of Mercy.”
Pace’s 2003 memoir is titled For My Good but for His Glory. She was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007, CBN reports.
Pace was reportedly a close friend of the actor and screenwriter, Tyler Perry, who met Pace during his early playwriting years.
Perry purchased a home for Pace’s mother, Bettie Ann, who died in 2020.
“Both of these incredible God Loving, God Fearing, at-all-times-praying women have passed on. Ms Betty passed not long ago, and today I found out that LaShun has also passed,” Perry wrote in an Instagram post.
“As I think about the heartbreak of knowing that so many people are in need and the state of the world today, I’m just glad to know that they were able to spend their last days in a home that they owned, surrounded by love.”
According to 11Alive, Pace’s death is the third death within her family in the past two years. The eldest sister, Duranice Pace, died in January 2021 at age 62. LaShun Pace is survived by seven of the nine Pace sisters and an adult daughter, Aarion Rhodes.
“It was important for me to share my gifts, and not just my gifts, but to share the character that she instilled in me ... the woman she groomed me to be,” Rhodes told the news outlet, adding that she hopes to one day cover the songs her mother used to sing.”
