Portrait of Betty Gregory. IMB Photo
Betty Gregory, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Costa Rica, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, died Aug. 7, 2026. She was 92.
Betty was born Nov. 23, 1933, in St. Louis, Missouri, to the late Roy Lee Goad and Scrilda Mae Mincher Goad. She graduated from McKinley High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and received the Master of Arts from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University), Kirksville, Missouri, and the Master of Religious Education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.
During college, Betty served as a summer missionary in Washington and Oregon. She married Laverne Gregory on May 28, 1955. After two weeks of Vacation Bible School, they left for a honeymoon trip to Europe, the Holy Land and the Baptist World Alliance in London, England. In the fall of 1955, they enrolled in seminary. In 1956, they moved to Queen City, Missouri, where Laverne was called as pastor of Queen City Baptist Church.
While seeking missionary appointment Betty recalled her time as a summer missionary as a turning point in her call to international missions. One night, after she led a program challenging women to consider the need for more workers in the Philippines, she had trouble falling asleep. She wrote, “I returned to my room, but sleep would not come until I accepted my own challenge and the greater challenge of God. I knelt beside my bed and asked the Lord to forgive me for being so selfish in my missionary outlook. I asked Him to take my life and use it, with the promise that ‘Wherever You Lead I’ll Go.’”
In 1958, the International Mission Board appointed Laverne and Betty missionaries to Costa Rica. They served through teaching and distribution of Christian literature, established warehouses throughout Central and South America, coordinated radio and television programs, and planted churches. Betty also taught music and crafts. In 1974, they transferred to Mexico, where Betty taught piano and religious education courses at the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary in Mexico City. She also served as a National Young Woman’s promoter. In 1979, they moved to El Paso, Texas, where Betty served as assistant to the director of sales and field services at the Baptist Spanish Publishing House. Their work also included assisting the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Resources) of Nashville, Tennessee, to begin the distribution of Spanish literature.
Betty was preceded in death by her son, Mark Leroy Gregory.
She is survived by her husband of 71 years, Lester Laverne Gregory; her son David Gregory (Merri Lynn); and three grandchildren.
Information about services is unknown.
Read an obituary here.