Paul Douglas King Jr.

He is preceded in death by his first wife, Doris Elaine Grantham King, his sister, Dorothy Ruth King, and his daughter-in-law, Suzette Marie Cluff King (first wife of son Kelly Paul King).

Doug was born in Kinston, NC on February 5, 1933, to Retha Lee Quinn King and Paul Douglas King. The family moved to Morehead City on the coast of North Carolina in 1947 where he attended Morehead City High School, played football, and met his first wife, Doris. In his senior year, he was voted Best Looking and Best All-Around, and he and Doris were both voted Most Popular and served as President and Vice President of their senior class. While in high school, he worked part-time as an appliance repair technician and helped run his family’s neighborhood grocery store/bakery, waking early in the mornings to make the donuts that were the staple of the store. In his spare time, he loved swimming, diving, fishing and boating in the salt waters of the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. Doug owned his first boat at 13 years old and proudly owned one all his life until shortly before his death at 93 years old. Doug loved the water and boats so much that his childhood dream was to become a saltwater fishing boat captain.

Doug competed for and won a full scholarship to the Engineering School at Duke University where he was a U.S. Navy ROTC midshipman. Because Doug would have lost his ROTC scholarship, he and Doris were secretly married on March 27, 1955, in Conway, SC. Only their parents were aware of their plans, and the couple secretly lived in one of the upstairs apartments in Doris’s parents’ Morehead City home until Doug graduated. Doug received his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and his Officer’s Commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1956; he was the first in his family to receive a college degree. When the couple finally officially announced their marriage in the town newspaper after Doug’s graduation, over a year had gone by, so many of their friends thought the paper had incorrectly printed the year.

The young couple moved to Quantico, VA to start Doug’s Marine Corps career, and then later moved back to Morehead City, NC when Doug received orders to nearby Camp LeJeune, NC. During this time in Morehead City, Doug and Doris started their family of three children.

While with the Marine Corps, Doug taught at Amphibious School Norfolk, VA and spent time aboard ship, including Shellback initiation when he crossed the equator for the first time. Doug was promoted to Captain (O-3), but he and Doris decided that it would be better for Doug to pursue a civilian career with the Federal Government. In June 1959, Doug resigned his commission and took a job at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station as a Civil Service employee. In his new position, Doug designed the instruments and developed the testing protocols for a new engine test cell. Headquarters staff were so impressed by his work that they offered him a job, resulting in the family relocating to the Washington, DC area in 1966. While there, Doug earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University and continued his civilian career until his retirement in 1988 from his ES-4 Senior Executive Service (SES) position.

In the summer of 1988, only months after retiring, Doug’s lifelong love of the water and boats naturally led him and Doris to Marco Island, FL, where they spent almost 25 years enjoying each other, their children and grandchildren. They filled their days with boating, fishing, exercising, entertaining, and enjoying McDonald’s breakfasts and happy hours with friends and family. They spent every July 4th watching the Residents’ Beach fireworks, and many sunsets waiting for the “green flash.” Marco Island was Doug and Doris’s paradise, and they lived there longer than any other place they had lived. Their marriage lasted 58 wonderful years until Doris passed on January 26, 2013.

Doug continued to live on Marco Island, and in 2014 he met his second wife, Billie Bonita (Bonita) Nicholson Singlevich, while attending the Wesley United Methodist Church. The two were married on Marco Island on August 15, 2015, and honeymooned in Key West and Antiqua. During their eleven year marriage, they were active members of both the Wesley United Methodist Church and the United Church of Marco Island. And although Doug never fulfilled his dream of becoming a fishing boat captain, he joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary and maintained a captain’s license. At the age of 92 and after residing almost 37 years on Marco, Doug moved with Bonita to Terracina Grand Assisted Living Facility in Naples, FL. They remained married until Doug passed at the age of 93.

Doug is survived by his second spouse, Bonita; daughter Debra Elaine and her husband, Carl Overstreet and ex-husband Daryl Nix; daughter Donna Kay and her husband, Rick Seymour; son Kelly Paul King and his wife, Debbie; his eight grandchildren ages 44-29 and their spouses/partners, Peter Overstreet (Calie), Daniel Nix (Ryssa), Devon Nix (Andrew Harmon), Lauren Kirkland (Drew), Ryan King (Meghan), Douglas Seymour (Anthony Krall), Trevor King (Leticia), and Christopher Seymour (Maggie); and his eleven great grandchildren ages 11 to almost 1, Owen Nix, Gracelyn Kirkland, Austen King, Brooks Kirkland, Weston King, Violet Overstreet, Reese Kirkland, Charlotte Seymour, Isabella Harmon, Harvey Overstreet, and Lily Seymour.

Doug was a devoted husband, generous and loving father, incredibly fun grandfather, and a kind, loyal, and trustworthy friend. No words can describe the extent to which his presence will be missed by family and friends. We are all truly blessed to have been a part of his life.

Friends are invited to join Doug’s wife and family at a memorial service celebrating his life and spirit on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 1:00pm at Terracina Grand Senior Living, 6825 Davis Blvd, Naples, FL 34104.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Doug’s honor to The US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the American Heart Association, or to the United Church of Marco Island.