James Wayne McKamie

James Wayne McKamie was born April 26, 1933, to Dudley Clarence McKamie and Mary Ellen McKamie. He was the youngest of four children. He passed from this life on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at the age of 90 years.

All of Wayne’s early education was in the Moody Public School System from which he graduated in 1950. The pivotal point in Wayne’s life was when Lula Jean Cherry transferred to Moody High School from Lorena. Wayne and Jean met in high school, fell in love, and married June 29,1951, in the Cherry home at Cherry Hill Farm in McLennan County. They were both 18 years old and had been out of high school for a little over a year. This one turn of events changed the life-long history for both Wayne and Jean and even impacted the success of the preaching of the gospel across the U.S. and even in other parts of the world. At the time of her passing in 2021, Wayne and Jean had been married for sixty-nine years.

Wayne grew up as a member of a staunch Baptist family in Moody just southwest of Waco and faithfully attended a Baptist church during his growing up years. His parents taught him to believe in and love God, and they taught him to maintain high moral standards, always warning him against such things as drinking, gambling, dancing, and immoral behavior. He said he grew up with the conviction that a bottle of beer or a deck of cards would be as welcome in his home as a rattlesnake.

Before their marriage, Wayne began attending church services with Jean at a country church known as the Jones Hill Church of Christ, seven miles south of McGregor. Billy Jack Ivey was the preacher that day. And Wayne remembered being impressed by the humble one-room school building in which they met and by the simplicity of the worship service. That was in 1949. After a serious study of the Bible, Wayne was baptized into Christ in February 1950 at the Vaughn Blvd. congregation of the Church of Christ in Fort Worth. Because of his talent and his engaging, booming voice, he was encouraged to develop his talent; and he preached his first sermon at the old 4th Street congregation in Waco in early 1951.

Following their marriage in July 1951, Wayne and Jean moved to Harrodsburg, Indiana, where Wayne worked as an evangelist with the historic congregation there. After about a year and a half, they began going to many congregations across the country for Wayne to conduct gospel meetings.

In 1960, they settled their growing family back in McGregor at which time Wayne began attending Temple Junior College from which he was awarded an Associate in Arts degree in 1962; while there, he was selected to be a member of Phi Theta Kappa, a national junior college honor society. Transferring to Baylor University, he completed the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in education in 1964. He was an honor student at Baylor. Later, in 1970, he completed a Master of Science degree at Baylor.

For several years, he taught school in the Waco area during the winter months and conducted gospel meetings during the summers. In 1966, he became a master teacher with the Hallsburg schools and later was named to the positions of both superintendent and principle for Hallsburg. He retired in 1988, then returning to full time preaching.

For more than forty-five years, Wayne worked with mission efforts in many parts of Mexico as well as traveling to Great Britain on a good will trip and making mission trips to Peru and Ecuador in South America and to Ghana and Zambia in Africa.

Wayne is survived by four sons, Charles McKamie and wife Susie; Carlis McKamie and wife Tina; David McKamie and wife Valorie; and Brian McKamie and wife Jeanette; twelve grandchildren, Micah McKamie; Jairus McKamie and wife Leanna; Caleb McKamie and wife Jessica; Sarah McKamie; Staci McKamie; Carrie (McKamie) Jackson and husband Jeff; Curt McKamie; Callie (McKamie) Shirey and husband Tyler; Lacey (McKamie) Jones and husband Brandon; Hannah (McKamie) Fuerst and husband Joey; and Mandy McKamie; six great-grandchildren, Claire and Quinn Jackson; Parker and Tyson Shirey; and Colt and Landry Jones.

The family wishes to extend their graditude for the loving care given to Wayne by Heartis, Amedisys Hospice, Dr. Keith Boles and the McGregor Clinic.