Pinky King

PINKY KING

Thomas Lester “Pinky” King, age 76, died at home in Fairhope, Alabama, on Thursday, June 9, 2022; he was surrounded by his family and friends.  Visitation will be held at Memorial Funeral Home in Columbus, Mississippi, on Sunday, June 12, from 1:00-3:00, with a service immediately following.

Mr. King was born in Berkeley, California, on August 10, 1945, to the late Thomas Jasper and Annie Louis Lang King.  He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1969 and served as a lieutenant in the United States Army from 1969-1970, returning to Columbus at the beginning of 1971.  He later attended graduate school and worked at Sanders Oil Company before he started at First Columbus National Bank.  He left the bank after five years to go into partnership with Eddie Spivey in S & K Door Company in Starkville, where he worked for thirty-six years until he retired in 2014.  In that same year, he was appointed to serve on the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Trustees.

Pinky, as he was known to his many friends, loved all sports:  golf, hunting, fishing, and boating.  He almost missed his younger daughter’s birth because it was the beginning of dove season.  He was a devoted, supportive father who, much to his amused exasperation, helped his daughters move multiple times all over the country.  Friendship was the most important thing to Pinky, and the family would like to give special thanks to all of his dear friends who traveled back and forth from Columbus to Fairhope to visit.  As one of his best friends said recently, “if you were lucky enough to have Pinky as a friend, then you had a friend indeed.”

Pinky was preceded in death by his parents and his aunt, Elizabeth “Tut” Stephens, who was like a second mother to him.  He is survived by his wife of fifty-three years, Jan King; his two daughters, Megan Schooler (Josh) of New Orleans, LA, and Amy deGruy (Rob) of Fairhope, AL; his granddaughter, Ava deGruy, and his grandson, Campbell deGruy, both of Fairhope; Borden “Beaux” Fegan (Kathryn) of Magnolia, MS; Ondrea Fegan (Luis Lopez); Donya Fegan; Lysandra Fegan; Douglas Fegan; his two sisters, Jeanne Oliver (Owen) and Beth Christoffersen (Chris); along with multiple nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Team Gleason, a foundation that helps people living with ALS, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.