Thomas King

Thomas King passed away on December 16th, 2021 after a brief battle with cancer.  Born in Newton MA in 1930, he was the eldest son of Thomas and Sadie King.  He is survived by his brother, William King, two children, Stephanie Haig and Peter King, a son in law, Scott Haig, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two nephews.  Tom grew up in Newton Centre and was a 1947 graduate of Newton High School.  He attended Harvard college on a ROTC scholarship, then joined the navy.  Lieutenant King was the youngest serving naval officer at that time.  He was stationed on the WASP aircraft carrier and often declared, “Those three years were some of the best in my life!”.

Following his naval stint, Tom married Mary Perkins, (div 1972-deceased 2020) then attended Harvard law and business schools, graduating from the Business School as a Baker Scholar.  He joined Standex International shortly after and lived in Santiago, Chile as President of the Coca Cola bottling plant.  Eventually, Tom rose to CEO and Chairman of Standex and oversaw the intelligent growth of the company as well as a significant rise in its stock price.

An avid reader, stock market devotee, lover of the outdoors, best friend to dogs, golfer, and disciplined exercise devotee, Tom’s common refrain was ‘Everything in moderation—keep to the middle of the road!”

Tom was a fantastic father and a remarkable friend.   He took annual golf trips for over 65 years with ‘The Boys’, a dozen friends from Newton High School, When Tom was your friend, he was your friend always.   His partner Pat Kennedy, his children Peter and Stephanie and relatives miss him tremendously and cherish him dearly.  

Private family services were held earlier and interment was at Newton Cemetery.  Gifts in Tom’s memory can be sent to Homes for Our Troops at 6 Main Street, Taunton, Ma 02780, or online at www.hfotusa.org.

http://www.hfotusa.org/

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