Charles C. King,

Charles Chester King Jr., 96, the beloved Covington native and Honorary Newton County Historian since 2000, died June 9th in hospice surrounded by his family. He would have celebrated his 97th birthday on October 7, 2012. His memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd followed by a reception in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Church of the Good Shepherd - Building Fund, 4140 Clark Street, Covington, GA 30014. Charlie King was born to Louelle Mobley King and Charles C. King Sr. in Monroe at his grandmother's home. He was educated in Covington schools and graduated with a B.A. degree in philosophy from Emory University in 1936. King had successful careers in many fields including the law, military, federal and state service. His lifelong passions lay in historic preservation and land conservation. He was an active member of the Covington Kiwanis Club for 59 years, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Georgia Conservancy, the American Legion and the Newton County Mental Health Association. He was a founding board member of Friends of Newton Parks.His first job was Director of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Pine Mountain, GA, supervising public works projects in the depths of the Great Depression. Thereafter, he joined the Georgia State Park System as assistant to Covington native and Director Charlie Elliott. King enlisted in 1941 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta and was trained as a Signal Corps combat cameraman until selected for Officer Candidate School at Fort Dix, NJ. He deployed in 1944 and served in the Philippines. He was honorably discharged in 1946, but remained in the Army Reserve from which he retired in 1969 as Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, King received his law degree at the Atlanta Law School, after which he was employed by the Veterans Administration in Atlanta. In 1947, he moved his family, wife Sally Lambe King and their two children, Sally and Barrett, to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the headquarters of Southern Railway. In 1952, he moved his family back to Covington and joined his father's law practice with Don Ballard that became King, Ballard and King. Gov. Carl Sanders named King to the State Board of Workers' Compensation where he served as deputy director and administrative law judge. He retired from the state in 1978 and established an Atlanta practice in workers' compensation and immigration and naturalization matters.King is survived by daughter Sally King Pitts of Conyers; son and daughter-in-law Barrett and Elizabeth King of St. Mary's, GA; grandchildren Jennifer Pitts Westerman and husband Larry, Jeffrey Pitts and wife Donna, Sherry Pitts, Ben Pitts, Lisa King Hawkes and husband Drew, Barrett King Jr. and wife Nancy, Sarah King, Michael King, and Denise Nadeau; great-grandchildren Brennan Charles Pitts, Collin James Pitts, Allison King, Ryan King, Katie Hawkes, Christopher Hawkes, and Eliot Hawkes; sister-in-law Martha King; niece Celia King Larson; and nephews Coleman T. King and Samuel Charles King. His parents, wife, sister Sarah Frances King and brother Coleman T. King Sr. predeceased him.