King, Richard Patrick – 1915-2010

CERETTI, FRAZIER, KING, PIERSOL, THROM

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 5/15/2010 at 13:26:31

Dr. Richard Patrick King, 94, was born Oct. 9, 1915, in Chicago, Ill., the son of Dr. Owen and Etta (Piersol) King. He passed away peacefully Thursday, April 29, 2010, at Hilo Medical Center, Hilo, Hawaii.
Richard grew up in Aberdeen, S.D., where he graduated from high school in 1933. After graduation, he attended Northern State University in Aberdeen and Creighton University in Omaha. His studies were interrupted when he joined the U.S. Navy, where he attended flight training school in Pensacola, Fla. During World War II he rose to the rank of lieutenant commander as a Naval pilot, serving in the Caribbean and China. During a mission out of Trinidad in early 1942, he was severely injured and was the sole survivor of a plane crash that claimed the lives of the other 11 members of the crew.
He was united in marriage to LaVale Throm in 1941, and they went on to have three sons. He continued his education after the war, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Dakota State University and his doctoral degree in animal nutrition from Iowa State University. He spent the next 30 years as a college educator, finishing his teaching career as professor of chemistry at Hiram Scott College in Scottsbluff, Neb. He remarried in 1971 to Edith Frazier and resided in Hot Springs, S.D., until her death in 2001. His final nine years were spent in southern California and Hawaii.
Richard was preceded in death by LaVale and Edith; his parents; his brother, Owen Jr.; and his granddaughter, Dana (King) Ceretti. Left to honor his memory are his sons, Phillip (Diane) of Statesboro, Ga., James (Joy) of Hilo, Hawaii, and Jeffrey (Jodi) of Newton, Iowa; his four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 13, 2010, at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D.
Arrangements have been placed in the care McColley’s Chapel of the the Hills in Hot Springs. Written condolences can be made at www.mccolleyschapels.com.
Source: Newton Daily News; Wednesday, May 12, 2010