John F King

John Francis King, beloved brother, uncle and friend died in Arlington Heights, IL, on August 20, 2026 after a brief illness. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law Donald and Diann King of St Louis, MO, his sister, Mary Catherine Kelley, of Wilmington, DE, his dearest friend Dori Zahnle of Arlington Heights, IL, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his parents and by his brother-in-law, Kevin Kelley.

He was born on September 2,1942 in Philadelphia, PA to John Francis and Mary Catherine King (nee Irwin). John’s first home was Wilmington, Delaware; in middle school, he moved to Northern New Jersey. He graduated from Xavier High School in New York City in 1959 and from Fordham University in 1963, majoring in Greek and Latin.

Using his Classics education in an unusual way, John entered the field of banking, working first in a local New Jersey bank, then at Continental Bank and Bank of America in his beloved Chicago, where he worked in credit risk and systems analysis. After retirement, he continued to work in programming and development at the Ravinia festival.

Although banking was his vocation, music was always his first love. He was a skilled pianist and accompanist, and shared his beautiful baritone with many choral groups over the years– at Fordham, in Chicago with colleagues at both banks, and with many church choirs. His happiest choral experiences had to have been with Chicago’s William Ferris Chorale. No stranger to the stage, John performed in church productions and for several years, composed accompaniment and music-directed Shakespeare plays in the village of Arden, working with his sister, a theater director.

A lifelong interest in family history and genealogy led him to find ancestors and living cousins in Ireland, as well as some long-hidden family ties to his grandfather, about whom little had been known. He was able to visit Donegal twice and meet those cousins, a happy reward for years of research.

Our family’s feelings for John are best summed up in this excerpt from a letter from John’s niece, Liz, read to him the day he died:

Uncle John,

I want to tell you why I love you – and why you’re so loved in this family. You radiate a gentle kindness with your smile and your thoughtful questions whenever we see you.

You are deeply curious and also tend to be the smartest person in the room – but you don’t let on. You just know the classic reference for a modern story, or the musical piece and every instrument that’s playing, or how to solve a vexing IT problem. You retain facts and references better in your 80s than most of us half your age. And your curiosity about and research in family genealogy have given us all a better sense of where we come from. This is a real gift – to know we are descended from real people in real towns in the North of Ireland and various parts of Northern Europe. Not everyone is lucky enough to know their family histories.

You share the best New Yorker cartoons. I don’t always reply, but I always laugh and appreciate that I have a kindred spirit in Chicago. Your sense of humor helps us all get through “interesting times” in the world.

You have a truly beautiful voice and musical talent. When you sang from the choir loft at my wedding, Bowen (aged 3) asked if it was God’s voice singing. His father told him yes, indeed, it was. That was perhaps the most thoughtful and beautiful wedding gift I received.

Meantime, just want you to know how very loved you are, and what a gift you are to us.

Love, Liz

A memorial visitation will take place from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturday, September 5th, 2026 at St. Raymond of Peñafort Catholic Church, S Elmhurst Ave, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, followed by a Funeral Mass from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Interment private.