India, Sept. 28 -- Russell M. Nelson, a world-renowned cardiac surgeon who saved many lives over his extraordinary career, died at 101.

Church authorities reported that the medical pioneer and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed away at the age of 101 on Saturday just after 10 pm in his Salt Lake City residence.

Nelson is recognised as the oldest president in the history of the church.

Nelson was a loving father, spouse, and patriarch on a personal level. He had 10 children with Dantzel White, whom he married in 1945. After White unexpectedly died in 2005, Nelson wed Wendy L. Watson, a professor of marital and family therapy at Brigham Young University, in April 2006. She retired shortly after they got m...