Louise Webb King

Louise Webb King Louise Webb King, age 92, passed away Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, in Charlottesville, Va. An only child, Louise was born in Hugo, Okla., in 1918 and grew up in west Tennessee and on the prairies of Oklahoma. She was the daughter of the late Lucian Gordon Webb and Frances Elizabeth Pearcy Webb of Whiteville, Tenn. As a national debate champion from Shawnee High School, Shawnee, Okla. in 1936, Louise received a scholarship to attend Virginia Intermont Junior College, Bristol Virginia. As a result she was hired as a speech and debate coach at Virginia High School, Bristol Virginia after she graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1939. In 1942, she married the late Thomas R. King Sr., a chemist and Bristol native. During World War II, while Tom worked at the Army Ammunition Plant, Radford, Va., Louise, having grown up with firearms, tested military weapons and ordinance on the plant firing range as a quality control specialist. In the 1950s she returned to college and received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1955, she began her second career as a psychiatric social worker at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem, Va. Later, Louise accepted a position with the Roanoke Guidance Center, Roanoke, Va. There, she was one of the first professionals at the center, which has evolved into Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare with more than 400 employees serving the mental health needs of the Roanoke Valley. She retired in the 1980s. When she resided in the Roanoke Valley, she was president of the Mental Health Association; deacon at First Presbyterian Church; and a member of AAUW and NASW. Louise moved to Charlottesville in 2001. She is survived by her only child, Thomas R. King Jr. and his wife, Judith, of Charlottesville; three grandchildren, B. Webb King and his wife, Allegra, of Roanoke, T. Gary King and his wife, Lindsay of Boston, and Susannah M. King of Nashville, Tenn.; and two great-grandchildren, Benjamin J. A. King and Ethan W. T. King of Roanoke. The funeral service will be conducted at 12 noon, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010, in Akard Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. David Welch officiating. Burial will follow in Glenwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1112 noon on Tuesday prior to the service. Any remembrances may be sent to Mental Health America of the Roanoke Valley, 10 E. Church Ave., Roanoke, VA 24011. Email condolences may be sent to the family at akardfh@akardfuneralhome.com Akard Funeral Home, 1912 W. State St., Bristol, TN (423) 989-4800 is serving the family of Mrs. King.