King

Dr. Thomas William King Jr. of Butler passed away peacefully at 8:45 a.m. Sunday at his home.

Born Aug. 27, 1924, in Grove City, he was the son of Dr. Thomas William King Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Orr King.

A 1942 graduate of Mercer High School, he attended Knox College and Grove City College.

In September 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a bombardier. He was honorably discharged in December 1945.

He graduated in 1950 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry, where he was a member of Delta Sigma Delta fraternity.

During the Korean War, Dr. King served in Korea with the 3rd Infantry Division after having enlisted in 1949 with the Army Dental Corps. He later served as a commanding officer of the Medical Company, National Guard, in Butler.

He and his wife of 59 years, the former Lois Lord Stein, were married July 9, 1948, in McKeesport. Together they moved to Butler County, where his father had briefly practiced in the Saxonburg area in the 1920s. They established dental offices in both Chicora and Butler. He would later consolidate his practices into an office at the Medical Arts Building in Butler. For years, he maintained his practice of general dentistry in an office in the Diamond Building with his father and his brother, the late Dr. Richard J. King, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. A second brother, Dr. David O. King, also briefly practiced orthodontia in Butler. In 1986, he retired from the practice of dentistry.

An Eagle Scout and a Boy Scout leader, he was honored as a Distinguished Citizen of 1998 by the Moraine Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America. Dr. King was a founding member of the Christ Community United Methodist Church. Additionally, he was a 50-year member of the Hebron Lodge 0575 in Mercer, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the United States Trotting Association and a life member of the Pennsylvania Dental Association. He also served as a director of the Meadows Standardbred Owner's Association.In addition to having served his country, Dr. King continually served the community in which he lived. From 1960-1961 and again from 1967-1968, he served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 11th Legislative District. Following his retirement from dentistry, he was elected to a four-year term as a Butler County commissioner. He also was the Republican nominee for Congress in 1958 and campaigned with then Vice President Richard M. Nixon and met President Dwight D. Eisenhower.He and his wife were for years the proud owners of a host of successful harness horses that raced in both Pennsylvania and Ohio and occasionally in New York or Kentucky. In addition, they raced in Pompano, Fla., for several years. Counted among Dr. King's happiest moments was the night in 2001 that one of his remaining horses, Berlin Flyer, was named to the Hall of Fame at Northfield Race Track in Ohio.Although he was actively involved in a host of ventures, his greatest joy in life was his family in whom he instilled a love of family, the thirst for knowledge, the importance of education, the adventure of travel, the passion for helping those less fortunate and a vested interest in always giving something back to your community.In addition to his beloved wife, he is survived by a son, Thomas W. King III and his wife, Martha, of Valencia; two daughters, Cheryl Ann and her husband, Michael E. Walsh Sr., of Butler and Mary Elizabeth and her husband, Edward Owlett, of Wellsboro; seven grandchildren, Emma, Caroline and William Henry King of Valencia, Michael E. Walsh Jr. and his wife, Eliza, of Seattle, Wash., Charles Andrew Walsh and his wife, Diane, of Pittsburgh and Jennifer Sue and Tricia Elizabeth Owlett of Wellsboro; and a great-granddaughter, Makana Sun Walsh.In addition to his brother, Dr. David O. King, of Greenville, he also is survived by four sisters, Jean Slifka of Cheshire, Conn., Mary Lou Hood of Mercer, Patricia Redfoot of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Barbara Beatty of Whiting, N.J.A brother, Dr. Richard J. King, and a sister, Elizabeth Ann Hennessy, preceded him in death.

<B>KING </B>— Funeral services for Dr. Thomas William King Jr., who died Sunday, April 20, 2008, will be private for close friends and family. Officiating will be the Rev. Cloyd Osborne of Butler and Dr. King's great-nephew, the Rev. Adam Rodgers of Stoneboro.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Moraine Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America or the Butler Public Library.Arrangements are being handled by the <B>Young Funeral Home</B>, and information also is available at www.youngfuneralhomes.com.