B.J. Cline

Billie Joe Cline, B.A. ’57, of Waco passed away on Dec. 29, 2025. Cline was born Aug. 13, 1931, in Hale Center, TX, to the late Philip A. and Mary Edna Clark Cline. He grew up farming in Hale County and Castro County. He attended grade school in the Old Snider Country School, southwest of Plainview, and attended high school in Plainview, Dimmitt and Hart, where he graduated in 1948. He came to Waco to attend Baylor University and graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

While living in Edmonson, TX, Cline met his future wife, Joyce Colleen Bain, and they were married Aug. 13, 1950. He had three separate careers in his lifetime that he flourished in while growing his family. He spent the first 21 years farming; 31 years he managed stores for Sears Roebuck & Co. in Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska; and 21 years he worked for Merrill Lynch in investment banking while living on Galveston Island on the Texas coast. Cline retired in 2005 and made his way back to Waco.

Cline was always very active in his community and organizations. He and Joyce are longtime faithful members of Woodway Baptist Church, and he was a Gideon. In addition, he was a dedicated Baylor alumnus, member of TSRA and a licensed minister, ordained at Edmonson Baptist Church in 1952. During his time on Galveston Island, he founded the “VIT” Rotary Association while serving as president of the Galveston Rotary Club.