FRESNO - Polly McNabb, associate editor of the California Southern Baptist for more than 40 years, died Dec. 12 from a massive stroke. She was 87.

Polly, whose column "Just Polly" was a staple in the CSB for eight years, served California Southern Baptist Convention - The Southern Baptist General Convention of California when she started - 43 years before she retired in 1992.

Hers was the longest tenure of any CSBC employee, and she served alongside seven editors and under the leadership of five executive directors.

The Missouri native attended Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield and taught school before being invited to serve as secretary at First Southern Baptist Church in Bakersfield. Polly subsequently was hired as assistant to the editor of the CSB, Floyd Looney.

Having interrupted her college work when she moved to California, Polly enrolled at California State University, Fresno and changed her major from education to journalism.

She was named acting editor in 1961 after Looney resigned, and served until J. Kelly Simmons was elected editor.

In 1962, Polly was promoted to associate editor and advertising manager. Other editors with whom she served included J. Terry Young, Don McGregor, Elmer Gray, Herb Hollinger and Mark Wyatt.

Though she never married, Polly was considered an "honorary pastor's wife" by California women due to her service covering the annual Ministers' Wives' Conference at Jenness Park for many years.

Her Just Polly columns ranged in subject "from personal observations and musings to accounts of service by various individuals, to stirring debate over issues confronting Baptists," Mark Wyatt wrote upon her retirement. "She displayed a fierce commitment to traditional Southern Baptist values and personal liberty.

"Her columns also provided occasional history lessons culled from her almost encyclopedic knowledge of California Southern Baptist churches and institutions."

When Polly began working for the CSB, the Convention had 225 churches with fewer than 27,000 members. Forty-three years later, 1,500 churches represented a combined membership of more than 400,000.

Polly received an honorary doctor's degree from California Baptist University in Riverside 1992, and was recognized by the Southern Baptist Press Association that same year.

In 2003 she received the Heritage Award from the California Baptist Historical Society. The annual honor is presented in "recognition of outstanding and unusual dedication to the cause of Southern Baptist history in California."

C.B. Hogue, late CSBC executive director who was exec at the time of her retirement, wrote about Polly: "How do you measure the contributions of service by anyone who has committed a lifetime to a task? Do you do it by tenure? By faithfulness to the job? Love for the organization and its heritage? Excellence in doing the task? These are a few standards of measurement which could be used. For one Polly McNabb, these positively apply."

She was a long-time member of Woodward Park Baptist Church in Fresno, and a member of Sierra Heights Baptist Church at the time of her death.

Funeral services were held Dec. 17 at Clovis Hills Community Church. Polly is survived by a sister and two nephews.