David Lawrence King

1939 - 2021

David Lawrence King

Nov. 12, 1939 - Nov. 27, 2021

BRANT LAKE/QUEENSBURY - David Lawrence King of Brant Lake and Queensbury, NY died on November 27, 2021

Dave was born on November 12, 1939 in the small village of Guilderland Center, NY, to the late Leon George King and Esther Ruth (Sholtes) King.

While in high school he became the youngest ever Eagle Scout in Albany County. He received an Electrical Engineering degree from Clarkson University in 1961, and joined IBM in Poughkeepsie NY. Due to lucky timing he had chosen an employer who was able to provide him with varied, challenging and enjoyable employment for the next 36 years; working as an Engineer, Programmer, and Manager. A number of his software applications were used by company employees worldwide.

His early employment was interrupted for two years while he served as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Thailand. There he lived in a small off-the-grid village where only Thai and Malay were spoken. He worked on improving the quality of life for the people by promoting small changes in their everyday life, unfortunately with limited success. He had many stories to tell, including missing an opportunity to visit Vietnam just before the war because he was relieved of his money for the boat ticket to Saigon by a pickpocket in Singapore. When his duty was over he choose the option of taking the cash equivalent of his home-bound airline ticket and traveled on a four month odyssey by land across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.

After returning to Poughkeepsie he had the good fortune of meeting Mary Julia Stoner, who had abandoned her field of chemistry to join IBM to train and practice in the newly emerging profession of computer programming. They were married in 1968. Dave claimed that he attracted Mary's attention by the car he drove; a 1965 British soft-top TR4A, which he claimed was a "chick magnet". Over the next 30 years Dave enjoyed driving a variety of low-slung four-on-the-floor sports cars from Britain, Italy and Germany.

Dave enjoyed working with his hands. He added a major three-room second story addition to his home, where he did all the electrical, plumbing, and interior finishing. He also produced numerous projects in his wood working shop and had a hobby business crafting with stained glass and teaching adult education classes on the subject. He was also involved with the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby for over a decade, and was one of the first to use a computer to judge and score the race.

He retired from IBM in 1996 and helped found and direct a volunteer organization that taught seniors to use computers. Dave was also a literacy volunteer in Poughkeepsie. He began work on a vacation home at Brant Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State, where he had a basic shell constructed and then completed all of the interior work over a period of six years. He moved there with his wife after she retired in 2002. Here they embraced the out-of-doors; hiking, biking, paddling, and snowshoeing. He loved the rural nature and peacefulness of their lake home, which brought back fond memories of his free-range childhood. Dave became particularly interested in bicycling and founded a biking club for retirees. He and his wife became tandem bicyclists, and were one of the first in the area to embrace electric assisted bicycles.

During the long winters he kept his programming skills fresh by developing websites and internet applications for close to a dozen clubs and volunteer organizations in the area that he was involved with. He was also active in the Brant Lake Association as their Webmaster and Newsletter Editor.

Dave enjoyed cooking, listening to jazz, choral singing, and playing the guitar and banjo. Music was always part of his life. As a folk singer he knew all 23 verses to "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore". He played a mean folk-style guitar and 5-string banjo, and sang in barbershop quartets, His "Dave's Cave" college station radio show playing 50's Jazz was a Saturday night staple. He also participated in choral singing with his college classmates and with the semi-professional musicians studying at the Crane School of Music, also in Potsdam, to be music teachers. He particularly enjoyed singing with the Crane students in an a Capella double quartet which sang from a rear balcony after a starting cord from an organ up front.

He learned to juggle when he was 50, and relished traveling with his wife to exotic locations such as Angkor Wat, Myanmar, Thailand, the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, the Panama Canal, and Petra. In his lifetime Dave visited over thirty countries.

David is survived by his wife Mary King; son Jeff King and daughter-in-law Susan Kim King of Los Angeles, CA; and son Michael (aka Marius) King and daughter-in-law Winifred (Capowski) King of Garrison, NY.

At Dave's request there will be no calling hours. Services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are in the care of the M.B. Kilmer Funeral Home, 136 Main Street, South Glens Falls, NY 12803.

Those wishing to honor his memory may make a contribution to Maine Black Fly Breeders Association, 123 Main Street, Machias, ME 04654, or to a charity of their choice. A memorial service will be planned for the summer of 2022.

To leave online condolences please visit www.kilmerfuneralhome.com.