THOMAS JOSEPH KING

KING, THOMAS JOSEPH Thomas Joseph King, 93, of Glastonbury, CT, a former longtime resident of Guilford, CT, died on Saturday, August 23, 2014 in Hartford Hospital. The eldest son of the late Thomas Michael and Catherine O’Connell King, he was born in New Haven, CT, on November 21, 1920. He was a 1938 graduate of Hillhouse High School in New Haven, where he ran on the track team. He attended Yale University as a member of the class of 1949 of Sheffield Scientific School after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was deployed as a radioman in the Mediterranean. Thomas fought in the Battle of Anzio, Italy, and entered Japan as part of the occupational forces following the war. He also served in the Korean War and was called to duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant in active duty, he served in the Naval Reserve for many years and was recommissioned as a CWO4 to extend his service. He earned a certificate in anti-submarine warfare from the Naval War College in Newport, RI. He worked for the U.S. Government as a quality control engineer on the Apollo Space Program and the Nuclear Submarine Program at United Nuclear in Uncasville, CT. He retired in 1980. He served many years on the Board of the Guilford Lakes Improvement Association and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a longtime volunteer for SARAH, Inc. of Guilford, which serves children and adults with disabilities. He was a communicant at St. Dunstan’s Church in Glastonbury and a supporter of his alma mater, St. Rose’s School in New Haven. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, E. Frances McCormick King; by his daughter Ann C. King, her husband Thomas Richardson and their children, Carl and Nadine, of Wellesley, MA; his son Thomas McCormick King of Sandwich, MA, and grandson Thomas McCormick King II of Fort Myers, FL; his daughter Amy King Ramos, her husband Iván Ramos and their children, Iván and Gabriela Ramos-King of Glastonbury, CT; and his daughter Alice King of New York City. He is also survived by his sister, Rita King of Hamden, CT, formerly of Cheshire, CT; his brother, Timothy King and his wife Patricia of Hamden, CT; and by his brother-in-law, James McCormick of Dunedin, FL, formerly of Littleton, NH. He was predeceased by a sister, Ruth Roberts and brother-in-law Jack Roberts, formerly of Ormond Beach, FL, and Williamsville, NY and by his sister-in-law, Epiphanie McCormick. He is further survived by nieces and nephews Kathleen Burlingame (David), Betty Tanski (Walter), John (Deirdre), Marjorie and Rita Ellen Roberts, Timothy (Ellen), David (Patricia), James and Cathleen King (Paul Catalano) and many grand-nieces and nephews. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. George Church, 33 Whitfield St, Guilford on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 11 am. Friends may call prior to Mass on Thursday morning from 9:30 – 10:30 at the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church St, Guilford. Burial with Military Honors will follow Mass in St. Lawrence Cemetery, West Haven. Memorial contributions may be made to SARAH, Inc. c/o SARAH Foundation, 246 Goose Ln, Suite # 104, Guilford, CT 06437. (sarah-inc.org) or to St. Rose of Lima School, 423 Ferry St, New Haven, CT 06513. To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit: www.GuilfordFuneraHome.com