Gene King

April 7, 1920 – August 6, 2014

General Tye King, known to most as Dr. Gene T. King, of College Station, passed away on August 6, 2014 at St. Joseph Regional Health Center, in Bryan. He was 94. Well done, oh good and faithful servant. Texas lost a legend and heaven gained a giant.

Gene was born April 7, 1920 in King, Kentucky to Wesley and Sarah Stafford King. A Veteran of Foreign Wars and member of the American Legion, Gene served as a member of the National Guard and saw active duty in WW 2 for 6 years. He advanced from private to Captain and followed Patton's army in his great campaign across Europe to the Rhine River as an officer and company commander in charge of evacuating and caring for the wounded. Later, he evacuated casualties from Bastogne. In three and a half years, he was not aware of ever losing a patient that was in their care, as a medic-evacuation unit.

A native of Kentucky, Gene and his wife, Lois Gatliff King moved to College Station in 1953 and stayed. He was a Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University and also served as Associate Department Head. Over a long career in teaching and student advising, Gene coordinated countless undergraduate laboratories for thousands of Aggie students, and he supervised the preparation and training of various classes by graduate student assistants. He was respected because he truly cared about students and their career goals. Students remembered him as demanding yet kind with high expectations and a trademark grin. Gene was a father figure in many respects and his work with students earned him the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Student Relations. Upon his retirement in 1986, Gene was named Professor Emeritus, reflective of his professionalism and service to Texas A&M. Former students remember him for his consistency and simplicity, recalling that he lived in the same house since 1955 and drove only one pickup truck, named 'The General', with an American flag on the bumper.

With formal training in meat science, Gene was recognized nationally for his scholarly achievements. He authored or coauthored over 150 scientific papers related to meat and muscle physiology and was recognized by the American Meat Science Association with the Signal Service and the Fellow Awards in 1981. A year later, the American Society of Animal Science recognized him again. He spent time coaching the Meats Judging Team at Texas A&M, served for a period of time as the Meats Section Leader in the Animal Science Department, was an advisor to the Saddle and Sirloin Club and served as President of the Texas Section of Food Science and Technology.

Dr. King was a deacon at First Baptist Church of College Station for many years. He chaired numerous committees at the church and was a familiar face to Aggies on Sunday morning. His strong Christian faith was reflected in the way he treated others and in how he lived life daily. Gene was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Barbara Carol King, and wife, Lois Gatliff King. He is survived by a niece, Deitra King, nephews, James A. Gatliff and Noel Gatliff and a cousin, Bill Melton. Funeral services for Gene King will be Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to service time, Wednesday at the funeral home. Interment will be at College Station City Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Gene and Lois King Fund at First Baptist Church in College Station or to the College Station Noon Lions Club, Melvin Jones Fellow, in memory of Gene T. King.