Duane Harold King

1947 - 2017

May 1947 - September 2017 Duane Harold King, Ph.D., passed away peacefully on September 17, 2017, at the age of 70 at home in Arcadia, California, with his family by his side after a brief battle with lung cancer. Born in Kingsport, Tennessee, Dr. King was a kind and devoted husband, proud father, loyal friend and colleague, and inspiring mentor to many. He was a true gentleman and internationally recognized scholar who provided leadership and passionate expertise in Cherokee and Native American language, history and art throughout the country. Dr. King, who received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee and his M.A and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Georgia, was a prolific author of more than 75 publications on Cherokee and Native American topics and museum studies and was the founding editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies. Dr. King's distinguished career spanned appointments throughout the U.S. He most recently served as the University of Tulsa's Vice President for Museum Affairs and Executive Director of the Helmerich Center for American Research, and was the previous Executive Director of the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa. As Executive Director of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, Dr. King helped guide the merger of that institution with the Autry National Center, preserving the historic site and collections. Dr. King also worked as the National Museum of the American Indian's Assistant Director of the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City, where he met his wife, Lee. Dr. King also held Executive Director positions at the Middle Oregon Historical Society in Warm Springs, Oregon, the Cherokee National Historical Society in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Cleveland State College, Northeastern State University, and served as the first endowed Chair in Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University. Dr. King was also appointed senior advisor for academic research and program outreach for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum for the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Dr. King is survived by his wife, Lee Callander, and their children Travis and Angela King, sisters Judy Kinkead and Kathy Rooney, brother Perry King, and their spouses and children. A memorial celebration of Dr. King's life will be held on Monday, October 30, 2017, at 10:00 am at the University of Tulsa's Sharp Chapel, 800 S. Tucker Dr., Tulsa, OK. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr. Duane H. King Memorial Visiting Scholar Fund at the Gilcrease Museum's Helmerich Center for American Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma.