Virgil King Obituary

Mr. Virgil Harold King of Port Angeles passed away after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

He was the eighth of 10 children born to Bennie Eugene and Elsie Ross King.

Virgil attended school through the seventh grade in Augusta, Kansas. He finished school in Entiat, Washington, and was a graduate of Entiat High School.

He earned his associate degree from Wenatchee Valley College in 1958 and received his bachelor's degree in education from Western Washington College of Education in 1961.

Virgil then went on to earn his master's degree in educational administration from Western Washington College of Education in 1972.

He served in the United States Air Force from February 9, 1953, through December 4, 1956, when he was honorably discharged. His duty stations included bases in Texas, California and Alabama.

Virgil impacted the lives of his students at seven local schools for 19 years before leaving the Port Angeles School District to accept a position as superintendent of the Entiat School District in Chelan County in 1980.

His career in the Port Angeles School District started in 1961, when he took a position as a fourth-grade teacher at Lincoln School. In 1962, he began four years of teaching in Sequim at both the junior and senior high schools.

When he returned to the Port Angeles School District in 1966, he taught fifth grade at Jefferson School until 1972.

Upon completing his master's degree, he moved into the administrative field in 1972 as principal of a kindergarten-through-eight-grade school at Eatonville in Pierce County.

He returned to the Port Angeles School District for a third time in 1973, when he became principal of Hamilton Elementary School. In 1974, he was principal of both Hamilton and Dry Creek elementary schools, and in 1975 was the vice principal of the old Roosevelt Junior High before becoming principal of the school from 1976 through the 1978-79 school year.

In the 1979-80 school year, he was principal of Monroe School.

He was superintendent of the Entiat School District for nine years before retiring in September of 1989 and returning to retire in Port Angeles.

He was married to Marlys Eliot in Wenatchee, Washington, in 1958.

Virgil was most happy when with his children and friends when camping and "trailering." He looked forward to his annual hunting trip with his buddies. He was also known to do a bit of fishing.

He never turned down a plea for help from his friends.

He is survived by his wife, Marlys Eliot King of Port Angeles; son Ryan Garth (Raylene) King of Ferndale, Washington; daughters Sheryl King (Bill) Wells of Renton, Washington, and Monica King (Bob) Weber of Prosser, Washington; two grandchildren; and three stepgrandchildren. He is also survived by four sisters.

He was preceded in death by two brothers and three sisters.

A family memorial service will be held at a later date in Entiat.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, http://tinyurl.com/alzhdonation.