Martin W. G. King

KING

MARTIN W. G. KING

Martin W. G. King died in his home in Washington, DC on December 16, 2023 after a determined and brave battle against leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 74.

Martin was born in Victoria, BC, Canada, the son of Dudley King and Daphne Edwards. He is survived by his wife Robin Groom of Washington, DC; his brother Colin King of Toronto, Canada; and his stepbrother Alan H. King of North Falmouth, MA.

Martin was a writer and editor. He wore his heart on his sleeve in life and in his work. He believed in equality, justice and fairness and often wrote spirited op-eds in support of the forgotten, the homeless, and the disadvantaged.

Martin launched his career early with trademark verve and tenacity, freelancing his first stories in the 1960's while still a high school student in West Vancouver, BC. From Ottawa in 1967, where he worked for the National Harbours Board, he sent "On Parliament Hill," a periodic column he wrote, to the Lions Gate Times back home.

He arrived in Washington, DC in September 1968 to attend the Corcoran School of Art before taking a job with The World Bank. He'd arrived, he recalled later in his Washington Post story on his early days living in Dupont Circle, as "a would-be art student...[with] a threadbare wallet, a suitcase full of art books, magazines, and sketch pads, three shirts, one pair of pants, a parka, one antiwar button and a Gordon Lightfoot record not yet released in the United States."

He wrote and edited publications for The American Red Cross, The National Committee for Quality Insurance, The American Council of Life Insurance, The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Government Executive Magazine and The National Crime Prevention Council among others.

On the side, he nurtured a true love, freelance travel writing.

He became an American citizen in 2014.

A celebration of Martin's life for family and friends will be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday, February 12 at the Lyon Park Community Center, 414 N. Fillmore Street, Arlington, VA.

Expressions of sympathy can be sent to Martha's Table or Central Union Mission in DC.