Jim and MaryLou Salter

Having been reared by Christian parents and having matured in their faith across the years through Scripture, prayer, and service, giving back to God comes naturally to Jim and Mary Lou Salter.

Mary Lou was born in Georgia but reared in North Carolina.She was baptized at age 12 in ariver by her pastor "the very formal Dr. Fitzgerald." Her early mentor was a Sunday School teacher, who was the wife of her family's physician.

Jim was born and reared in Alabama. His propensity toward athletics and academics resulted in his being on the high school football team and in the Honor Society. His early mentors were his family's physician and his pastor, who had been a physician.Jim's parents were committed to the Lord's work. They passed on their legacy to Jim andhis five brothers and sisters, each of whom today is serving the Lord through their Baptist churches and beyond in mission work.

Following OCS and military service in the Philippines, Jim returned and graduated from Berea College with a chemistry major. Mary Lou graduated from the Berea College Nursing School. They met while college students, they married in the Danforth Chapel at Berea College,and they have two children and three grandsons.
During Jim's student years atthe University of Louisville Medical School, Mary Lou was a nurse at the VA Hospital. Duringhis internship at Lexington's Good Samaritan Hospital, Mary Lou was Director of OperatingRoom at Eastern State Hospital.Jim had a family practice in Mt.Sterling for six years and an OBGyn residency and practice inHamilton, Ohio, for 15 years.They returned to Richmond in 1978 where Jim practices today.

These two wonderful Christian friends have been faithful not only through their medical related professions but also in thestewardship of their time, talent,and treasures through their missions related projects. Both have been intimately involved inthe churches where they have lived, as well as in the larger family of Baptists. Mary Lou serves on the Clear Creek Baptist College Board, and she and Jim serve on the Hawaii Baptist Academy Advisory Board.

Mary Lou said it this way: "God has been so good to us,and we feel the need to give backsomething to help further His work." Jim affirmed the use ofthe services of the Foundation in facilitating their stewardship by stating, "I feel the Kentucky Baptist Foundation has been prudent and helped us in our decision making. It is important for the Foundation to continue the future role of Baptists giving back something to the ongoing work."

Jan and Sam Roy

Jan and Sam met in the summer of 1948 in Somerset, Kentucky,through a mutual friend and were married November 12, 1949, at Ferguson Baptist Church, Jan’s home church.

Following his 1951 graduation from the University of Kentucky,Sam worked for a grocery chain until he and a partner purchased three grocery stores in the Gateway chain, located in Kentucky and Indiana. He was also a real estate broker, primarily for his own rental property and development business. Throughout the early years of their marriage Jan concentrated on rearing their children. Later she handled the accounting and collections for the real estate business and worked inthe office of the grocery stores business.

They joined Louisville’sWalnut Street Baptist Church in 1976 where Jan and her family are still members today. Jan and Sam provided leadership in various aspects of the church’s ministry, but missions was their first love.Active in WMU and the missions committee, Jan helped to start a Baptist Women’s group in her neighborhood in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is still active today.Sam was a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Brotherhood Director. He started a men’sprayer fast that met at Miller’s Cafeteria in downtownLouisville on Tuesday morningsat 6 a.m. He also led the men ofthe church to participate in layled revival weekends in Kentuckyand other states.

Over the years, Jan and Sam combined their love for travel and missions into a series of short term mission trips. It was their pastor and champion, Wayne Dehoney, and his wife, Lealice,who first encouraged them to participate in volunteer mission trips. The Lord is still blessing the gospel seeds they planted in the lives of people on their multiple mission trips to Brazil, Kenya, Russia, Australia, New Zealand,and the western part of the U.S.

Sadly, Sam died October 1,1997, after an extended illness and six weeks prior to their 48th anniversary.
Their son, Dave, is a businessmanin Jeffersonville, Indiana.Their daughter, Cathi RoySanders,is the Accounting Services Department Director forthe Kentucky Baptist Convention Executive Board. Their 10 year old grand daughter, Allyson Sanders, is a statewide Bible drill winner.

It was only natural their pastor, Bob Long, encouraged Janand Sam to establish a missionsendowment to perpetuate theirmissions legacy beyond their lifetimes.The Foundation is honoredto be the fiduciary of this endowment,which will provide money,until Jesus comes again, to Walnut Street for others to carry on thislegacy by participating in shorttermmission trips. Lord, let thisbe a model for other Kentucky Baptist volunteer missionaries likeJan and the late Sam Roy.