Vincent King, a WWII Veteran, of Pinehurst, NC died Monday, May 31, 2021. Vincent was born September 9, 1923 in Jersey City, NJ to the late Patrick and Ellen King.
Vincent married Lois Warren on August 23, 1947. They met at a Homecoming Dance for WWII servicemen and fell in love immediately. They lived in Jersey City initially, then Plainfield, NJ and later moved to Southampton, NY where they raised their four children and resided for 45 years until their move to Pinehurst in 1997.
Vincent served as a staff sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps (AACS) 1942 – 1945 in North Africa and the Middle East with duty tours in Bahrain, Bengazi and Tripoli. Cairo was headquarters for his organization which manned control towers, worked with the weather squadron and would take in code and give it to the cryptographers. He later served with the Air Transport Command, running a route from Algiers to Cairo daily.
Following his service in WWII, Vince graduated from Montclair State Teachers College with a degree in English and Social Studies. In the 1950s, Life magazine featured a big spread on Montclair State as an exceptional school.
Vince worked as a teacher, guidance counselor, coach and principal before becoming Assistant District Superintendent at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES I) in Westhampton, NY. Vince started many vocational programs for students on the eastern end of Long Island along with summer programs for talented and gifted children recommended by their schools.
Commuting to Manhattan on Saturdays, he earned his Master of Arts degree at New York University. At Southampton College, part of the Long Island University system, he found time to serve as an adjunct lecturer and adjunct professor.
Vince enjoyed coaching and gave tennis lessons in Southampton Village and was an avid tennis player and much sought after opponent. Very involved with local community activities, he was a member of Rotary for decades. Vince and Lois loved their year-round vacation house on Indian Lake in the Adirondacks of New York.
At age 55, Vince retired as Assistant District Superintendent at BOCES I and enrolled in Pace University School of Law in White Plains, NY. He took an apartment in White Plains, spending weekends at home in Southampton with his wife Lois. Their four children were by then grown and away from home.
Immediately upon graduation, Vince became an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, NY. He worked closely with state and county police and later, with village and town police. Two years later, Vince opened his own law practice in Southampton where he served as Special Counsel to the Town of Southampton and Special Assistant District Attorney of Suffolk County with authority to prosecute violations of the town ordinances.
A member of the New York Bar, Vince was also a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association Desert Storm Panel which provided pro bono legal assistance to members of the United States Armed Forces (and their families) called to active duty in the Persian Gulf crisis.
For his work with BOCES, Vince was made a life member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents.
Vince was President of the Southampton Golf Club from 1992 – 1993. He loved to play golf and he and Lois started splitting their time between Southampton and Pinehurst in 1995. They moved to Pinehurst in 1997 after building a home on Course No, 6. Vince later served as President of the Pinehurst Owner’s Association (POA) #6.
A devout Catholic, Vince was a Fourth Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus.
A life-long educator, mentor and coach, Vince was first and foremost a father and in recent years patriarch of the extended King family. He and Lois were married 65 years prior to her death in 2012. He is survived by his four children: one son, Jeffrey W. King of Pinehurst and three daughters, Patricia E. King of Pinehurst; Barbara Estupinan and husband Bernardo of New Providence, NJ; Ellen Brown and husband Billy of Pinehurst; and four grandchildren, Jennifer King, Natalie King, Cristina Estupinan and Gabriela Estupinan.
Vincent is predeceased by his brothers: Joe King, Raymond King, William King, Reverend John J. King, S.J., Frank King and sisters: Ruth Taylor, Sister Eleanor Patricia King, O.P. and Marie King.
A viewing for Vince will be held Monday, June 7, 2021 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Boles Funeral Home in Pinehurst.
A Funeral Mass will be held 11:00 AM Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Pinehurst with the Very Rev. John Forbes officiating. Interment will follow at the St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church Cemetery in Southern Pines, NC.
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com
Services entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Pinehurst.
