Darrell Charles King
|
Darrell Charles King
Birth: Aug. 11, 1907 Van Wert County Ohio, USA Death: Aug. 4, 2008 Mount Dora Lake County Florida, USA Darrell
Charles King was born on a farm in Van Wert County, Ohio, to Frank and
Arminta "Minnie" Putman King, descendants of founding families of the
county. Darrell had two brothers, Willis and Earl Leonard, and two
sisters, Leona and Audria Olive King Creeden. In 1918, his
parents and he moved to nearby Celina. At the age of fifteen, Darrell
joined the Ohio National Guard and served as part of the Honor Guard at
the funeral of President Warren G. Harding. Being an adventurous
soul, he and friends hopped box cars and made many cross-country trips
to Oregon and Washington. He also survived the devastating hurricane
which hit Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1926.
Darrell married classmate Cressence Alfred
Mendenhall in Lexington, Kentucky, on April 22, 1929. They divorced nine years
later.
Among
several jobs he held as a young man, he was employed as the manager of
the Northmoor Golf Course, outside of Celina, and as a manifest clerk
for the American Fruit Company, Wanatchee, Washington. A friend
persuaded him to come to Beckley, West Virginia, to join in a
photography studio venture they called The Picture Shop. Later, Darrell
became a partner in K.T.M. Studios in Charleston, West Virginia.
In Beckley, he found his life-long love, Pauline Monette Compton,
whom he married on January 26, 1940, in Wytheville, Virginia.
They had two daughters, Judith Marie and Kay Louise who
gifted them with four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
He entered military service on March 11, 1944,
at Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, and then attended Military Police training at Ft.
Custer, Michigan. Eventually, he became part of the Signal Corps and was sent to
Army Pictorial Service, Astoria, Long Island, New York, where he became engaged
in the production of screen magazines and "Moral and Orientation"
films. After the war, he opened King Photo Supply
Company, a Beckley fixture for 42 years.
Darrell
and Pauline were charter members of Flat Top Lake Association, Ghent,
West Virginia, and also had a home in Leesburg, Florida. He became a
citrus grower and the developer of Picciola Harbors and King's Cove in
Lake County. They lived a full live which included extensive
travel to Europe, Asia, Australia and Central America.
Family links: Parents: Frank King (1865 - 1951) Arminta Putman King (1866 - 1938) Spouse: Alfreda Mendenhall Slemmer (1907 - 1973) Burial: Pine Forest Cemetery Mount Dora Lake County Florida, USA Story Created by: Judy Llamas,         
Pauline, Judy, Kaye, and Darrell
      
used with permission |