Jesse W. King Jr.

Jesse Whitfield King, Jr. of Birmingham, AL passed away on August 23rd, 2017. Whitfield was born on March 27, 1929 in Dothan, Alabama, the son of Marguerite Moody King and J. Whit King. He grew up in Dothan and graduated from Dothan High School. In 1951 he received his BA degree in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University, where he was president of the Student Council, president of the Student Christian Association, and president of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma. He was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), and was elected to Who’s Who in American College and Universities. Whitfield was a lifelong active Vanderbilt Alumnus.

After college Whit spent three years in the U.S. Army, serving in the Army Security Agency in the Military District of Washington, D.C. He joined the Chemstrand Division of Monsanto Co, in 1955, first working in Pensacola, Florida, where he was also director of the Florida Chapter of American Training Directors. In Pensacola, he met his future wife Carolyn Jane Ritchey of Indianola, Mississippi. They married in 1958.

Whit later served as Manager of Personnel Development for Chemstrand in New York and as Regional Director of Governmental Affairs for Monsanto in Decatur, Alabama. While in Decatur, he was involved in many local and statewide activities including serving as president of the Alabama Textile Manufacturers Association, board member of Associated Industries of Alabama, president of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the United Way of North Alabama, founder and president of North Central Alabama Junior Achievement, president of Decatur Kiwanis Club, board member of Decatur General Hospital, and chairman of the Board of Deacons at First Presbyterian Church.

In 1982 Whit and his family moved to Birmingham where he joined AmSouth Bank as Vice President, Governmental Affairs and became Senior Vice President in 1990. In 1991 he received the Chairman’s Performance Award for Leadership Excellence. Whit represented the bank on both state and national governmental issues and served on numerous committees of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and on boards of Alabama business organizations. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and served as District Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis. He was an elder at Independent Presbyterian Church.

Whit was on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Council on Economic Education for four decades, served as its president and chairman, and was their volunteer full time executive director (acting chairman) for the years 2000, and 2005-2007. He worked tirelessly to help educate Alabama’s K-12 teachers and students about the free enterprise system. Because of these extraordinary efforts, The Whit King, Jr. Free Enterprise Foundation was established, and in 2008 he received The William A. Forbes National Award for Public Awareness presented by the National Council on Economic Education. He was also president of the Birmingham Men’s Club 2012- 2014.

Whit was a life long tennis player and continued to play singles weekly with friends until age 80. He was an avid supporter of Vanderbilt Athletics and enjoyed time spent on the family farm. He will be remembered especially for his boundless energy, enthusiasm for life, commitment to causes, optimistic attitude, and his great interest in and love for people.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn, his sons Marshall Whitfield King of Park City, Utah; Roger Brian King (Sissy) of Birmingham; Peyton Ritchey King (Julia) of Birmingham; three grandsons Whitfield Tift King, Darden Brooks King, and William Whitfield King, all of Birmingham. Also surviving are his nephew James Kirk Garner of Jasper, GA, and his niece, Deborah Spence of Groveport, OH.

Services for Whit will be at Independent Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL at 2:00 PM Monday, August 28, 2017, followed by a reception in the parlor.

Memorials may be made to The Whit King, Jr. Free Enterprise Foundation, c% Alabama Council on Economic Education, P.O. Box 293930, Birmingham, AL 35229; French Camp Academy, One Fine Place, French Camp, MS; or Brother Bryan Mission, Birmingham, AL.

Arrangements under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel, Homewood, AL.