Family of Walter Eugene King SR. and Thelma F. JARRETT

Husband: Walter Eugene King SR.

	Walter Eugene King SR.

Wife: Thelma F. JARRETT

	Thelma F. JARRETT

Child 1: Walter Eugene KING JR.

	Walter Eugene KING JR., "21-7b"		Spouse: Patsy L. ROBERTS

Child 2: Dianne R. KING

Note on Husband: Walter Eugene King SR.

Walter Eugene King, Sr. (76 years) was born January 17, 1923, at the home in Kansas City, Missouri, to parents -Napoleon and Saphronia (Thompson) King. Walter was the third of five boys born to their union. His parents and broth-ers, Napoleon (Eddie) Jr., Benjamin, Thomas, Donald, and William (Billy) preceded him in death. He was the last son.

Walter graduated from the old Attucks Elementary School and Lincoln / R.T. Coles High School in 1942. He was known as "The Black Stallion" in his high school track days. He was inducted into the United States Army in 1943 and served with the 3915th QM Gas Supply Company as a truck driver in Rhineland. As a young man, Walter played saxo-phone and had many fond memories of his neighbor Charlie Parker and the 18th and Vine heyday. He was raised in and became a member of Second Baptist Church when it was located at 10th & Charlotte. He was the "unofficial church greeter." He loved to hold the church door open and greet the members on Sunday mornings, after the church had moved to 39th and Monroe. He retired after 30 plus years from Milgram Food Stores and was a member of the Teamsters Union, Local 41. Walter was also a member of the Pioneers Club, former Sergeant-at-Arms of the Wayne Miner American Legion Post 149, and former Secretary of Lincoln / R.T. Coles High School Alumni Class of 1942.

Walter married Thelma Jarrett King on September 2, 1950. They were married 48 years before she passed last October. He was a loving and proud father.

He leaves to cherish his memory: a daughter, Dianne King, Kansas City, MO and son, Walter (Patsy) King, Jr., Kansas City, MO; and stepdaughters, Carole (Harl) Newton and Sharon (Frederick) Tatum, and grandchildren.

Note on Wife: Thelma F. JARRETT

Thelma F. (Jarrett) King was born February 24, 1918, at the home in Kansas City, Kansas to parents - Robert L. N. and Edith A. Jarrett. Thelma was the eldest of seven (7) - 3 girls and 4 boys, Laura Williams, Estella Tompkins, John Jarrett, Nelson Jarrett, Carl Jarrett, and Richard Jarrett. Her parents and brothers Nelson, John, and Richard preceded her in death.

Thelma attended Stowe and Dunbar Elementary school, Northeast Jr. High and Sumner High School. She married Walter E. King, Sr. on September 2, 1950. She was a mother of four, 3 daughters, 2 by previous marriage, and 1 son. She was a member of Good Samaritan Baptist Church. She was employed as an Administrative Secretary with the Heart of America Eye Center, a former United Way agency from 1969-1978 and as a Secretary in Pupil Records with the Kansas City, Missouri School District, 1978-1983.

Thelma moved to Kansas City, Missouri in the late 1940's. She first became involved in community work when reading about a group of ladies named "The Community Committee for Social Action" (CCSA). The committee was calling for community support in ending discrimination in eating places, for the employment of minorities, and the hiring of minority bus drivers. She joined the committee. Her community activities and awards include: "Woman of the Year" award sponsored by The Kansas City Call and Greyhound Bus Lines, Inc., 1968; Freedom Incorporated "Freedom Award," 1971; "Recognition Award" from the George Washington Carver Neighborhood Center, 1972; and "Citizen of the Week" award from KCXL radio station, 1985. She was appointed by former Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to the "U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Advisory Committee for the State of Missouri" (served 8 years); by past Mayor Illus Davis to the Model Cities Board, 1968; to the Advisory Board of the American Civil Liberties Union; by former Superintendent James Hazlett to "The Council of 30," for the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMOSD) to study and make recommendations on the integration of the school district. She was a volunteer for the League of Women voters and served on the Education committees of the Council for United Action (CUA), Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), NAACP, and the Urban League. In 1983-84, she worked with a group working on the KCMOSD Desegregation Plan.

A quote from her award as Woman of the Year "Through bitter cold win-ters and scorching summer months, Thelma King could be found carrying a picket sign in front of downtown restaurants who had refused to serve Blacks and seeking the successful hiring of minority bus drivers. As a concerned mother of four children, Thelma King's quest for equal educational opportunities took precedence in her life and helped pave the way for generations on end."