Edward King

LCDR Edward Seward King, 96, of Huntsville, AL, passed away on Monday, September 13, 2021. Ed was born in Kansas City, Kansas on May 1, 1925.
    His early years were spent in Butler County, KS in El Dorado and on the King family farm at Bloomington. During his senior year at Augusta, KS High School at age 17, Ed signed up for the Naval Aviation V5 Flight Training Program. His orders came through on August 13,1943 to report to Kansas City to join a group of Navy inductees where they boarded a train to Corpus Christi, TX to train for work on the flight line as Seaman First Class.
   In December 1943, Ed was ordered to Ohio Wesleyan as a V5 Aviation Cadet. In March 1944, he was transferred to Webber College, Ogden, UT; in August, 1944, he reported to St. Mary’s preflight training. In December 1944, he reported to Norman,OK, for primary flight training; and then on to Pensacola, FL in April 1945, to complete flight training. On October 15, 1945, he was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy and received his wings as a Naval Aviator.
   After commissioning in 1945, he served in flight operations at Olathe, KS Naval Air Station (NAS) until September 1950, while attending Wichita University working toward a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. In September 1950, Ed was assigned to Patrol Squadron VP-881 flying PV2 (Harpoon) and PB4YZ (Privatier). Their mission was Air Sea Warfare (ASW). The Reserve Squadron drilled one weekend a month, and he performed active duty service in places such as Whidbey Island NAS, Bangor ME NAS, Barkers Point NAS, and Oakland NAS. In 1956 he transferred to Transport Squadron VR882 flying R5Ds to support Navy transport requirements at bases such as New Orleans NAS and Port Lyautey NAS Morocco. He changed his mobilization assignment to aeronautical engineer in 1974 and retired from the USN ready reserve in July 1, 1978.
   Concurrent with his Navy Reserve experience, he graduated in 1951 from Wichita University with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering after which he started working for Boeing Co. on December 1, 1951. Previously he was also employed by Beech Aircraft and Cessna Aircraft Co. In 1953 he became a test pilot for several years on the Boeing B47 airplane. During this time in Wichita, he met Ruth Ann (Corky) Jackson at a singles group they attended at a Presbyterian Church. They married on June 21,1958.
   In 1963 they relocated to Huntsville, AL where he worked as an engineer on the Apollo Saturn Program for Boeing. In 1967 they transferred to Cape Kennedy NAS, FL where he worked as an engineer on the Apollo Saturn launch system. In 1972 they returned to Huntsville, AL with Martin Marietta working on the Skylab Program. Returning to Boeing in Wichita, KS in1974, he became an engineer on the B42 and KC-135 airplanes. In 1977 they transferred to Boeing-Seattle to work on the AWA Program, the EAA 767 airplanes, and the E-6 TACMO. They returned to Huntsville in 1985, where he worked on the Space Station at Boeing. He retired from Boeing in March 1987.
   After retirement, he and Corky joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security. For 24 years they used their boat to patrol the Tennessee River area near Huntsville. In 2005 they moved to the Redstone Village Retirement Center in Huntsville.
   Survivors include his wife, Ruth Ann (Corky) King; his son, Eric Lee King; his brothers, Keith Albert King (Joan) and Donald Lee King (Joanne); sister-in-law, Ruth Jean King; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son, Brian Seward King; his parents, Lloyd Charles King, Sr., and Dorothea Narcissa Sharp King; and his brothers and sister-in-law, Lloyd Charles King, Jr.(Mary), and Kenneth Ray King.

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