Charles KING

KING, Charles
Charles King, a good friend to so many, died in Ottawa on April 29, 2013. He was 47.
Charles leaves behind a loving wife, Kelly Mounce of Ottawa; mom, Alma Adam; brothers, Robert and Paul; and half-sister Courtney King. He was preceded in death by his brother, David, father, Bob, and Sylvester the cat.
He also leaves behind his nephew Robert and niece Lindsay, godchildren Maddy Rodier and Jack Masciantonio, and hundreds of friends.
A memorial for Charles will be held on Friday, May 3rd, at the Chateau Laurier (Adam Room) from 4-6 p.m. A party will follow from 6 to 9 p.m. at Metropolitain Brasserie.
Charles was born on Sept. 21, 1965, in Sudbury, Ontario, the youngest of four brothers. He attended École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier, before moving to Ottawa in 1985 to study at Carleton University.
Charles became active in politics in the late 1980s, as a summer volunteer and later staffer for Sudbury MP Doug Frith while still attending Carleton. He would go on to work at Liberal Party headquarters in Ottawa between 1988 and 1994 in various positions, including executive assistant to party president Donald Johnston, and worked as an aide for Lloyd Axworthy at Human Resources Development between 1994 and 1996.
It was during the 1993 election campaign that returned the Liberals to power that he met his wife, Kelly. They would marry within two years. Kelly became the central focus of his life for the next twenty years and she was always his biggest supporter and best friend.
Charles left government in 1996 to join the main advocacy group for Canada's cable companies and spent the rest of his career focusing his work on broadcasting and telecommunications, largely as a partner at government-relations firm Earnscliffe Strategy Group, which he joined in 1998. After more than a decade at Earnscliffe, he joined Shaw Communications as vice-president for government relations in 2009.
Charles has been involved in many of the highlights of the Ottawa social calendar. He was a founding organizer of the Hill Charity Golf Classic, chair of the Politics and the Pen Dinner Committee and served as president of the Government Relations Institute of Canada between 2008 and 2011.
Even though a life-long Liberal, Charles transcended partisan politics and counted people from all political stripes among his friends. With his death, Ottawa has lost one of its most beloved members of the community. Charles was known for his hospitality and a big heart. He was invariably surrounded by friends with Kelly at their home in Ottawa and at their cottage in Quebec.
Up until the end Charles revelled in the company of friends, and he was surrounded by them as he passed away.
Everyone who Charles met came to appreciate his candor, his generosity and his friendship. He will be deeply missed.
Donations in Charles' memory to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation are greatly appreciated http://ottawacancer.ca/en/ donate-now/tribute-gifts/in-memory.aspx