Louisville—Kathryn Jasper Akridge, 86, retired executive director of Kentucky Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union, died June 7 at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville.

Akridge served as executive director of Kentucky WMU from 1970 to 1984. Thought of as an innovative leader who had a sense of history, Akridge led the auxiliary’s centennial celebration, which included the commissioning of the film “Bridge Builders,” produced by the former Radio and Television Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

During her tenure, the WMU State Missions Offering was named the Eliza Broadus Offering in recognition of the WMU leader’s 50 years of work among Kentucky Baptists.

“I personally appreciated Kathryn’s encouragement to me,” said Joy Bolton, current Kentucky WMU executive director. “She was always interested in what we were doing and wanted to be a part of things when she could.”

“Kathryn will be missed,” Bolton said. “Though it has been 25 years since she retired, she is still remembered and appreciated.”

Bolton noted that when Akridge vacated the WMU office, she donated a painting of the historic WMU emblem, which had been given to her by a friend. The painting still hangs in the WMU offices.

Brenda Price, who joined the Kentucky WMU staff in 1982, worked with Akridge until she retired in 1984. “Her heart for missions and missions education brought strength in her leadership role as executive director,” Price said.

During the years after her retirement, Akridge remained a “dear friend, an encourager, a supporter and one of my mentors,” Price added. Recalling her zeal for involving others in missions, Price noted, “Kathryn will be greatly missed, but her faithfulness to the Lord and His mission will have an impact on the lives of those who come behind her.”

Prior to being named executive director, she was the first full-time Baptist Student Union director at her alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University. A native of Somerset, Akridge was a graduate of the Woman’s Missionary Union Training School, formerly on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

A charter member of Hurstbourne Baptist Church in Louisville, she was preceded in death by her husband, William Henry Akridge. She is survived by her three stepchildren, seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held June 11, with burial at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.