Mrs. Barbara Joan King

Barbara Joan King, a long time resident of Indian Springs, Alabama, died Tuesday, the 10th of January at Grandview Hospital. Visitation will be held at First Baptist Church of Pelham, on Thursday, January 12, 2017 from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM. Funeral services following at 12:00 PM. Graveside at Walker Memory Gardens of Jasper at 2:00 PM. Born in 1943 in Jasper, Alabama, Joan was married for 55 years to Charles Wayne King, also of Jasper. Joan was the heart and hub of her family and she and Wayne travelled with the Air Force for the first twenty-five years of their marriage. During those years, they had two children, Tinya Wetzel, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Tony King of Dothan, Alabama. They spent time in Florida, Texas, Japan, California, and Mississippi before settling back in Alabama after Wayne retired from the Air Force. After all the years with the Air Force, there was nothing Joan enjoyed more than travelling. One of her favorite trips was the opportunity she and Wayne had to spend several weeks in Turkey. During that trip, Joan was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit Ephesus and the home of the mother of Jesus. Joan was a strong Christian and loved exploring history. She also had a heart for the Smokey Mountains, and took annual trips to watch the leaves change color. Her children and grandchildren are blessed with many fond memories of mountain trips with her and have inherited her love of the Smokies. Joan also loved animals, dogs in particular, and no dog was more blessed than the pampered pooch who resided in her care. She has passed this tender heart for animals to her children and grandchildren, as well. Joan touched everyone she met with her sincere love of people and her love of Christ. But most of all, she was a joy and a light to her family, especially to her twelve grandchildren: Adam King, of Houston, Texas; Lauren and Jonathan Anderson, of Atlanta, Georgia; Eli and Anna King, of Dothan; Isaac King, of Birmingham; Cade Wetzel, of Birmingham; Colby Wetzel, of Birmingham; Noah King, of Dothan; Micah King, of Dothan; ChapelAnn Wetzel of Birmingham; Samuel King, of Dothan; Benjamin King, of Dothan; and Hannah King, of Dothan. She was a constant source of love and support to her children and their spouses, Tinya and Don Wetzel, and Tony and Karen King. She is also survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Jimmy and Robin Richardson, of Jasper, Alabama. Joan had a smile that would light up a room and a sense of humor that permeated her family’s gatherings. She will be greatly missed, but her family rejoices that, after many years of immobility, she is walking in heaven with Jesus.