Lucy Pat Curl, beloved wife of First Baptist Orlando Church Pastor Bill Curl, passed away last week after being brutally attacked during a home invasion, according to a declaración from her family.

After Lucy Curl was taken off of life support at a hospital in Orlando, Florida, she then “went on to heaven.”

“We rejoice that she is no longer in pain,” the statement said. “The circumstances of her passing are shocking and abrupt, and not what we would have expected or chosen.”

Lucy Pat Curl, 85, had served alongside her husband at the church for 52 years.

Curl was fatally injured after Ronald Dwayne Davis forced entry into her home on Jan. 31, according to a declaración from the Orlando Police Department.

Police said Bill Curl arrived home to find his wife “severely battered inside their vehicle in the garage, pressing the horn for help.”

He then immediately called 911 and reported that an unknown Black male had forcibly invaded their home. Lucy Pat was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, according to the police’s statement.

De acuerdo con la arrest affidavit, Davis repeatedly struck Lucy Pat with what police believe was a crystal candy jar. When police arrived on scene, they found the home in disarray and determined that jewelry and coins from a “unique coin collection” had been stolen.

Detectives identified the suspect as Davis after finding his driver’s license at the Curl’s residence, according to the arrest affidavit. They then found him sleeping inside a shed on a residential property a few miles away from the Curl’s home.

Police noted that Davis had recently been released from prison in June 2024 after serving a 15-year concurrent sentence for burglary of a dwelling with assault and battery and robbery.

Orlando police charged him with home invasion robbery with a weapon, aggravated battery on a person over 65 with great bodily harm, and aggravated battery with a weapon, according to their statement.

Following her tragic death on Feb. 5, police Anunciado that Davis is now facing an additional charge of first degree murder in the commission of a home invasion.

Davis has been arrested more than a dozen times since the 1980s, according to court records. He is currently being held without bond in jail.

In the family’s statement, they note that Bill said he plans to share the Gospel with his wife’s attacker. He wants to talk with Davis to forgive him and show Davis a photo of the attack that Bill took.

“When asked what he would do with a picture like that, (Bill’s) response was, ‘I’m going to show it to the man who did this to her,” the statement continued. “’Then I’m going to forgive him. I refuse to let his actions dictate who I am.’”

Lucy Pat was one of God’s “finest”

First Baptist Orlando’s head pastor, David Uth, recounted the attack to congregants in his mensaje on Feb. 2.

Uth said Bill was out counseling someone at a local pregnancy center when Lucy Pat was attacked.

Davis told Lucy Pat he was a community service officer to try to gain entry into her home, Uth said. When Lucy Pat asked Davis for identification to verify his claim, he knocked her down.

“So, he knocks her down, she hits a coffee table like thing and just destroys the right side of her head,” Uth said. “He starts ransacking the house and she’s screaming out, and she goes outside to the van and honked the horn, to get somebody’s attention . . . but nobody came.”

When she was taken to the hospital, doctors told the Curls that Lucy Pat had a brain bleed “there’s really nothing we can do,” Uth continued.

Uth said the chief of police, who is his friend, called him the day after the attack and shared with Uth about Davis’s 40-year-long criminal history.

“Why did he choose her? Why? Why did it happen? I don’t know,” Uth said. “I wish I could stand here and tell you, but I don’t know. . . . You just look up and go ‘God, she’s one of your finest, she’s one of the best.’”

Uth said during Bill and Lucy Pat’s 52 years of service at the church, they have worked in several roles. They started out with an 18-year stint at First Baptist Orlando and then moved overseas to do missions work in London and Wales for another 18 years.

They have been back at the church for the last 16 years, he said.

Bill now serves in pastoral care, often giving grief counseling, “with Lucy Pat right there by his side.” She regularly played piano at funerals and other functions, Uth added.

First Baptist Orlando has around 14,000 members and meets for four services every weekend on its 130-acre campus in the city.

Many mourn Lucy Pat online

On social media, many are mourning the loss of Lucy Pat.

Her neighbor, Debora Brito Romualdo, shared on Facebook that Lucy Pat was there for the family when they moved to the area temporarily.

Romualdo said Lucy Pat and Bill brought them banana bread and a warm welcome soon after they moved in. The Curls also invited them over for an “unforgettable” lunch.

“We spent the afternoon with Bill and Lucy Pat, a sweet, elderly couple who have such rich and fascinating stories to share,” Romualdo wrote. “We left their house that afternoon feeling refreshed and deeply blessed to have such wonderful neighbors.”

During the lunch, Romualdo learned that Lucy Pat was a “brilliant” pianist.

Lucy Pat’s friend, Marc Verlander, posted on Facebook that he knew her since he was just four years old.

As a kid, the Curl’s encouraged Verlander’s parents to become missionaries.

Later in Verlander’s life, the Curls led Verlander and his family to become missionaries with the International Missionaries Board in Wales, Verlander said. He served there for 13 years, while Bill Curl served as the leader all the missions teams in the United Kingdom.

“The Curls are some of the most generous, loving, selfless people I have ever met,” Verlander said. “They have devoted their lives to Jesus and living for the glory of His name. I was, and still am, devastated that a senseless act of violence took the life of such a wonderful person.”

He said his heart breaks for Bill and the extended Curl family, but added, “I do not grieve today without hope . . . I’m going to see my friend again one day and we will worship our king together.”

The Curl family will host Lucy Pat’s memorial service at First Baptist Orlando on Feb. 16.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.