About William King

The William King Educational Trust was set up in memory of William King to build a school in Belize in Central America.

In the near future we will provide you with a bit more information about William.

Meanwhile, if you would like to provide a story of how you saw William, please feel free to contact us at info@wket.org.uk and we will publish your thougths about him.

Just a photo of William.
 Click to enlarge.

 

William King

William King, our Dad, was born in Haverford West on the 24th of August 1953. He was the fourth of five children born to the proud parents of Bill and Nano King, who had emigrated from Ireland to settle happily in Milford Haven. Milford provided a playground for the children of sea and beach and initiated Dad's great love of water & exploration.

The early years

At the age of five he moved with his family to Gowerton, to the lovely home of 'The Pines' where he grew up in the gardens, fields and woods amongst a variety of farm animals. Those who passed through the gates knew it as 'little Ireland', a place where everyone was welcome to enjoy the 'king' hospitality; a hospitality that Dad continued in his own family home - the door was always open to our friends as well as his. He even let his father and mother-in-law live with us for a year!

Dad attended St Josephs primary school and then Gowerton Grammar School, where he made life-long friends and later became a school governor. At the age of 18 Dad went to Leeds University to study 'Fuel & Combustion engineering'. He loved living up 'North' and would often tell me the fun that he and his friends had. Unfortunately his studies were interrupted at the age of 19, when Dad was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a disease so severe that his chance of survival was less than five percent. After taking a year out from his studies and enduring invasive radiotherapy and chemotherapy he went into full remission. He then returned to University and graduated with a 2:1 BSc honours degree. Unfortunately, the treatment killed all the nerve endings in his right leg. This he bore without complaint for the rest of his life and he never let it hold him back. Dad was always grateful for the treatment that saved his life and it gave him his unique outlook on life: to savour each moment and make the most of every opportunity.

The family business

He returned home in 1976 and entered the family building firm. He worked happily and successfully with his father acquiring practical and skilful knowledge. These held him in great stead, for in 1979 his dad became very ill and sadly died two years later. But his Dad was reassured, and always said: 'I'm not worried about work, for William is there'. He continued to work tirelessly in the business and supported his mother in every way until the day she died. By now, Dad was entrenched in the business and not only was he developing a great love for it but also a great vision. When his brothers, John and Gerald, returned from abroad Dad welcomed them into the firm and they made a great team.

Indeed, Dad did put his heart and soul into the family business. He was always at the drawing board or on site, perfecting every little detail and only content with the very best of finishes. He was very proud of the company's achievements and reputation. One highlight, which he relished, was being presented the British House Builder of the year award by Jill Dando at the Savoy Hotel in London. He also took great pleasure in seeing his photo in OK magazine!

The family man

Around this time Dad went to Botswana and Mauritius to visit his brother John. Here he developed a love for deep-sea diving, a hobby, which he pursued around the world all his life. This hobby provided a platform for a life changing experience, when through Swansea diving club on the fifth of November 1981 he met our Mum, the love and light of his life. When Mum moved back to London a year later, they soon decided a long-distance relationship was not for them and they married on the 10th September 1983. Dad and Mum had the happiest of marriages, never having a cross word passing between them for over the 26 years, except their differing views over the monarchy. They loved spending time together at home, with friends and more recently, working together in the firm.

Even after all his hard work on the site and helping others, he still gave more time to us in 20 years than any father could in a lifetime. He had such patience whilst teaching us to drive, encouraging us with our hobbies and transporting us all over South Wales. He helped us both throughout our school lives, from teaching us to read and do our times tables every night, to helping me with my Maths A-level. Nothing was ever half-hearted with Dad, when you asked him for help with a question he wouldn't just give you a quick answer, you'd be trying to get away after an hour of explaining! When teaching us to read he wouldn't just throw us a 'Where's Walley' book, but would stay up with me as a 7 year old reading novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (probably the most advanced book I've ever read!!) The author of that book, Mark Twain, once said, 'The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die any time'.

A life lived fully

And Dad certainly did live life to the full. He had a great love of travel, visiting more than 20 countries over 4 continents, from rugby weekends to travelling the breadth of Canada. He always dragged us to every tourist site and museum wherever we were. Dad always had a great love of the water, going out on the boat or swimming. No matter how cold it was, he would jump into any pool or ocean. He was always game for trying new experiences, such as white-water rafting, canoeing and scuba diving. Things that Dad wasn't able to do himself he wanted everyone else to enjoy, taking big groups of us waterskiing and always insisting we went on the school ski trips. His love of the arts and music made him a very frequent visitor to the opera and theatre with family and friends. Dad was an avid reader, the thicker the book, the better. He filled his mind with facts and figures which he was able to utilise in his many colourful debates and discussions.

He seemed to have time for everybody and nothing was ever too much effort for Dad. Dad always valued his friendships greatly, maintaining many friendships throughout his life. He especially enjoyed his Leeds reunion weekends. His extended family were also very important to him, we always lived next door to one of his brothers or sister, and David and I were lucky enough to grow up in the same village as all our cousins. It is thanks to the relationships that Dad maintained and built on, that we have had such great support in the last fortnight. Dad would never forget any old family friends or elderly neighbours, regularly visiting them and inviting them out on family outings. He was forever visiting ill friends and family in hospital and attending funerals – as he used to say if I don't go to theirs, they won't come to mine. Dad's religion was a central part of his life, he was a reader in this Church, the 'Church handyman' and a member of the Catenians.

Sadly, about 2 years ago he found himself becoming tired, short of breath and in some pain. He was diagnosed with heart valve damage, caused by the radiation which had saved his life over 30 years before. He tackled this latest challenge with his usual fortitude and looked forward to a new lease of life after the imminent operation.

My aunty told me last week that God takes you on your best day - and on Thursday the 1st of November I have no doubt in my mind that Dad was contented with life. He was strolling around St Tropez outside a French cake shop looking forward to a dip in the Med, enjoying spending time with my Mum and his good friends Lou and Cein. The weekend before he had visited David and me and was proud and happy to see us settled and happy in University. Dad never waited for retirement to enjoy himself, he never waited for a special occasion to share that special bottle of wine - he lived for today, not for tomorrow. I also have no doubt in my mind as to where Dad has gone. Such a kind and gentle man could only go straight to heaven, and hopefully we can learn to be more like Dad so we will be reunited with him one day.

Sarah & David