Portrait of Betty McKinley. IMB Photo
Betty McKinley, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Bangladesh, died July 4, 2026. She was 94.
Betty was born Jan. 24, 1932, in Louisville, Kentucky, to the late Thomas Cecil and Cora Rosenberger Cecil. She graduated from Shawnee High School in Louisville and attended Campbellsville (Kentucky) Junior College (now University) and the University of Louisville.
She met Jim McKinley during junior college, and they became engaged. Jim moved to Texas to finish his college work, and Betty returned to Louisville, where she accepted a job as a secretary.
While seeking missionary appointment Betty wrote, “It seemed that Jim had only been at Wayland College in Texas for a few weeks when I received a letter telling me that he had made the decision to be a foreign missionary. I found this rather hard to accept at first. … I had prayed that God would give the people in other parts of the world their needs, but when He pointed His finger at us, I answered ‘not us.’ God changed my attitude and my heart … and put there an anxiety for the time when we will serve in the place that has been prepared for us.”
Jim and Betty were married on Aug. 20, 1954. Jim enrolled in seminary and Betty continued working. In November 1955, they were called to the Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Mount Eden, Kentucky. In 1957, they felt God leading them to seek missionary appointment through the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board).
In 1958, the International Mission Board appointed Jim and Betty missionaries to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Jim and Betty served in Bangladesh until their retirement in 1992 and left behind a legacy of dedication to the Bangladeshi people. Jim wrote several books about their family’s experience in Bangladesh.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, James “Jim” Frank McKinley Jr.
She is survived by her children Cherie Marshall (Gary), Kathy McKinley, Keith McKinley (Gail), Wade McKinley (Ellen), and Jill Vergara (Miguel); 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
A funeral service was held July 18 at Westport Road Baptist Church in Louisville.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Lottie Moon Offering, IMB, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at Generosity Resource Center – IMB Generosity.
Read an obituary here.