Duranice Pace

Duranice Pace (Alto/Soprano; b. May 13, 1958 - d. January 14, 2021) The eldest sister of the renowned, stellar award wining family gospel group, The Anointed Pace Sisters, Evangelist Dr. Duranice Pace, was one of the lead vocalists and also wrote many songs for the group. Born in Atlanta, GA to Pastor Murphy J. Pace, Sr. and Mother Bettie Ann Pace, the gospel legend grew up singing in her father’s church and would go on to become one of the most recognized and beloved vocalists in the gospel community. Pace grew up singing with her 9 siblings — 8 girls and 1 boy. She started singing when she was five years old and was inspired by her father, who was a professional quartet singer for Gospel Starlights and her mother, who sang during praise and worship for the church testimony services. The Anointed Pace Sisters released their first studio album, It’s Morning Time, in 1989, on which Duranice sang both alto and soprano. The group went on to share 6 more projects, including My Purpose and It’s Already Done. Duranice’s unique style of gospel was inspired by musical films and Broadway plays. In 2013, Duranice, along with her sisters, was featured on an episode of Iyanla: Fix My Life. The singer and preacher shot to viral fame in 2017, after a clip of her singing to her family on Thanksgiving began to make rounds on social media. In addition to singing, Pace extensively toured the world as a preacher, sharing the love of Christ through her ministry and filling the hearts of everyone who heard her sing with joy. She traveled to South Korea, Las Vegas, California, New York, London, Italy, Australia, Japan and Switzerland,” sharing the gospel and lifting spirits worldwide. Duranice had been open about battling sickness and facing hardship throughout her life. She testified of having overcome sexual abuse, thyroid cancer, as well as defying doctors’ predictions that she would never talk or sing again after being fed rat poison and undergoing vocal cord surgery to repair the damage. She also was interviewed by Steve Harvey in 2019 for his eponymous daytime talk show, on which she also performed and later wrote her memoir “Poison to Purpose”. She was regarded as a viral singing sensation — a gifted songstress with the angelic soprano vocals, an infectious smile and warm spirit. Pace was the mother of Demarcus Love. She died on January 14, 2021 at the age of 62 due to health complications. Before her death, she had recently been in talks with a team of directors to perform on Broadway and also starred in the documentary series Genius: Aretha (based on the life of Aretha Franklin) and an episode was posthumously dedicated in her memory.