Barbara Kay King

Barbara Kay Alderman King (Kay) peacefully passed on February 27, 2020, at home, exactly where she wanted to be. She was 82 years young. Kay was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 5, 1937, the daughter of Curtis and Faye Alderman. She grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and attended Thomas Jefferson High School there. She graduated from Madison College (now known as James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 1958. She accelerated her college studies to marry her high school sweetheart, Wilton Wayt King, and be with him at the University of Virginia. They moved from Charlottesville to Virginia Tech for Wilton’s PhD work in the early 60s, finally settling in Atlanta, Georgia, where they lived together for more than 50 years and raised four children.

Kay was a devoted wife and mother, but she was fiercely independent. While caring for her young family, she earned a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Georgia State University. She then worked as a librarian in several Atlanta area schools, including Dunwoody High School.

Choral music was Kay’s lifelong passion. She loved to sing and was a soprano in church choirs for 70 years. She performed in several musical dramas produced at Chamblee United Methodist, with her most memorable role being that of Maria in “The Sound of Music.” Over the years, Kay sang in the choirs of Ginter Park Methodist, Chamblee United Methodist, Peachtree Presbyterian, and Dunwoody United Methodist. At the pinnacle of her choral career, Kay sang with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra chorus under famed director Robert Shaw. Kay had an abiding faith in Jesus and remained active in Dunwoody United Methodist even after reluctantly concluding that her voice was no longer worthy of the choir.

Kay was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Carolyn Alderman Thornton, and her beloved and devoted husband Wilton. She is survived by her children W. Wayt King, Jr. (Maura), Barbara K. King (Lou Mitcham), Stephen C. King (Roberta), and Carolyn K. Fisher (Clinton). She doted on 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 7 at 11:00 in the sanctuary at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, with visitation immediately afterward in the church parlor adjacent to the sanctuary. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity.