Bettye Gravley McKinley

Bettye Gravley McKinley, 93, of Green Cove Springs, Florida, passed away peacefully at 9:25am on the morning of October 8, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.

Born on April 1, 1932, at her family home at 1511 Idlewild Avenue in Green Cove Springs, Bettye was the first child of James Gravley and Vera Moody. A 1950 graduate of Clay High School, Bettye was a cheerleader and was voted “Most Popular.” Family and friends often laughed over the story that she was once kicked off the school bus for flirting with the football players. In 1952, she married the love of her life, John Alton McKinley, who affectionately called her “Bettye Waide” from the moment they met in high school. The couple moved into their marital home on Highland Avenue in 1953, where Bettye lived for the rest of her life. They shared 63 wonderful years together before John’s passing in 2015.

Bettye dedicated 31 years to the Clay County School System, serving many of those years as secretary to the superintendent. She also worked alongside her husband as the office manager of Beseler Motors Service Department, John’s business.

A woman of deep faith, Bettye was a cradle roll member and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church of Green Cove Springs, where she attended for 65 years. She later attended Orange Avenue Baptist Church and most recently Faith Baptist Church. She was also active in her community, serving on the Green Cove Springs Charter Review Committee of 1980 and volunteering for many years at the Clay County Fair, helping both in the business office and the homestead exhibit. She was an early member of the Clay County Historical Society. In 2024 and in recognition of her lifelong contributions to the community, Bettye was proud to be recognized as the oldest living original resident of Green Cove Springs and was honored to serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2024 Green Cove Springs Christmas Parade.

In earlier years, Bettye enjoyed tennis, boating on the St. Johns River, hiking, road trips, and camping, especially in the national parks out West when the girls were young and, later, at Shadowlawn, where she and John kept a camper. She cherished her bridge games at the local senior center and cheered passionately for the Atlanta Braves and Florida Gators (attending games for many years with season tickets). Bettye loved food and cooking - reading cookbooks, trying new recipes, and delighted in reciting recipes and discussing menu plans. She always had a jigsaw puzzle on the table for when friends or family visited, or just because. She was fond of reading and poetry, viewed gardening and sunshine as therapy, and loved to sit on her porch swing watching the birds.

We will especially miss the summers at the beach with just the girls (Merle, Ryan, Shelley, Lori, & Jenn) plus baby Clay, her numerous rhymes and stories, and her invaluable wisdom and advice. She was always just a phone call or visit away. She was always willing to listen and help.

Bettye lovingly cared for her husband John at home for over a decade as he battled dementia. Bettye was fiercely independent, driving herself and living at home alone. Her very recent health decline required the family to assist her at home, which she reluctantly accepted.

While she was a lively, engaging, and popular person, Bettye also had a rare gift for finding joy and peace in life’s simplest routines and in the solitude of being alone. She could always find a blessing in what each day brought her. Her ability to live in the present moment may have been her secret to longevity. We are thankful for all of the years we had with “Bet”.

She wanted to live three more years; we wanted her to live forever.

Bettye was preceded in death by her parents, James Gravley and Vera Moody; her husband, John Alton McKinley; her beloved sister and best friend, Merle Gravley Gerhardt (Joe); and her nephew, Joey Gerhardt.

Bettye is survived by her daughters Shelley Thompson (David) of St. Augustine and Lori Witham (Steve) of Green Cove Springs; granddaughter Jenn Thompson Taricano (Bryan) of Palatka; niece Ryan Gerhardt Widdowson (Ray) of Green Cove Springs; great-nephew Clay Gravley Widdowson; and great-niece Savannah Gerhardt. Bettye is also survived by long-term next-door neighbors – Gail & Reggie Heath of forty-five years, and on the other side, Donna Cypher, who first became a neighbor at the age of three.

The family will receive friends from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Thursday, October 16, 2025, in the Broadus-Raines Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Friday, October 17, 2025,, in the Broadus-Raines Chapel with Dr. H. Mark Nicholson officiating. A graveside service will be held at a later date.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - And this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one may boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9