Obituary of Keith King

KEITH HOWARD KING JUNE 10, 1942 - OCTOBER 24, 2019 Keith was born in London, Ontario to William Roy and Doris (Campbell) King, and raised in Wellburn (population 45). After losing his father at age 15, he moved to Cambridge, Ontario with his mother and his younger brother, Doug, and attended Glenview Park Secondary School where he excelled at sports, music and academics, while an officer in the Cadet Corps and President of the Student Council. He was a business graduate of Ryerson University (1964), where he again became President of the Student Council. He loved to tell people that (Mayor) David Crombie was his mentor. Recruited from college by IBM, he rose through the ranks to become the youngest branch manager in Canada. He lived in Toronto, Saskatoon, and finally Edmonton with his first wife Penny (Fawcett) and their two children, Andrea (Toronto) and Patrick (Saskatoon). Promoted to IBM International, Keith and Penny had divorced, and Keith moved with his second wife, Cheryl, to White Plains, New York where his territory took him to 21 countries and travel (often together) became a way of life, In White Plains they welcomed their first and only American-born child. Keith had always wanted to be his “own” boss, so in 1980 he purchased a McDonald’s Restaurants franchise in St. Thomas, Ontario. After three very successful years in St. Thomas, Keith was offered the opportunity to move to St. John’s, Newfoundland and acquire three existing busy but floundering McDonald’s. Rising to the challenge, he turned the three restaurants profitable and then expanded over the years to eleven locations. Fifteen wonderful years in St. John’s, and then he decided to move back to Toronto, and ultimately located to Kitchener, Ontario where he spent his final years. Confident, charismatic, athletic, ambitious, and mischievous, many people tried, but no on ever got the better of Keith, except once, when at his fortieth birthday roast he announced that he now had three children and that would be all, and then Cheryl made him a proud father one more time a year later, when Courtney was born in London, like her dad had been. He was an inspirational business leader, tough but patient and fair, who helped many people toward future successes, giving them opportunities they would not otherwise have had. He looked for, and found, the best in people and encouraged and rewarded that best. Highly competitive in sports, and honourable in business dealings, he was a force. President of the Board of Trade, and the Chamber of Commerce, he supported many causes, and was a cause celebre himself on many occasions. He received so many awards over the years that we simply ran out of space to put them. He was a born leader and was as comfortable speaking to 50 or 500 people as he was giving performance reviews, sitting in his office on the top floor of the old warehouse that he purchased and renovated and for which he won a Heritage Foundation Award. He was an avid tennis player, skier, and golfer, and he loved music, especially jazz. He loved his family and his dogs and his business. He took each of his children to their first day at college, no matter how far. And some of them were far!! He gave everything that he had to give, to the end, when all he had left was his killer smile and his sense of humour. He battled Alzheimer’s for more than five years with his usual spirit, with encouragement and love from the family, friends, and neighbours surrounding him, especially his sister, Donna and his longest and closest friend, William Genova, and including the personal support workers, Hailyn and Elizabeth, who treated him with dignity and compassion, and the Sunnyside Community Alzheimer’s Day Program staff who brought such joy to his days. After having managed 550 employees, Keith fired and gave raises to the staff at the Alzheimer’s day program depending upon their performance each day. Pre-deceased by his father and mother, and his much-loved brother-in-law, Delmar Bradley, he is survived by his wife of 41 years, Cheryl, his children Andrea Undseth (Clint), Patrick (Alessandra), Katrina, and Courtney, his grandchildren Claire and Lauren, and Cara and Hudson, his sister Donna Bradley, and his brother Doug (Sheila). My thanks and gratitude to the Glaves Family of Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre in Brantford, Ontario for their compassion and help at this difficult time. And my thanks to all of those who supported him through his illness, and those who have reached out in sympathy and understanding and generosity. Alzheimer’s is a difficult journey but, stubborn to the end, Keith helped me to help him, and I loved him for it to the end. A celebration of life will be held in Kitchener, Ontario for family and friends in the spring of 2020. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to his memory may contact Beckett-Glaves to have a tree planted in his memory in the Beckett-Glaves Memorial Forest. A tree will be planted in memory of Keith in the Beckett-Glaves Memorial Forest.