Yes, almost certainly they had his obituary prepared years ago. I was an intern at NPR HQ and was once tasked with updating prepared obits with additional news.

Yes, almost certainly they had his obituary prepared years ago. I was an intern at NPR HQ and was once tasked with updating prepared obits with additional news. Later, as a production assistant, I wrote an obit for Billy Graham. This was in 2008. No idea if this ended up being the one that would eventually air 10 years later.