Kern County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....King, Jr. , George June 21, 2005 ********************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/obitsca/obitsca.htm ********************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: K T bluewolf@onemain.com July 10, 2005, 4:31 pm The Bakersfield Californian King Jr., George 1918 - 2005 George King, Jr. January 5, 1918 - June 21, 2005 George King, Jr., son, brother, husband, father of three, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of four passed away in Houston, TX on June 21, 2005 after a long illness. Mr. King was born January 5, 1918 in Muskogee, OK, to George and Florence King. He married Mary Kathryn Neal of Van Buren, AR, in 1938 and moved to Fort Smith, AR, where he began his building career and soon became the owner of Daking Mill. In 1953, he began a new career by owning and operating the 3rd franchised Holiday Inn in the nation located in Colorado Springs, CO. After selling his first hotel he moved to Bakersfield, CA, developed and operated the 5th nationally franchised Holiday Inn located on South Union Avenue at White Lane. He continued to build hotels in the Bakersfield area and was responsible for more than 1,000 hotel rooms being added to the city. He built and operated hotels in CO, CA, AR, and TN. Later in his career, he purchased and developed over 10,000 acres of Kern County farm land, owned an irrigation company, developed and operated a local 333 space mobile home park and was active in all forms of real estate development and construction. He retired in 1975 and remained in Bakersfield until 2001. Mr. King was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years; his sons Grover Neal and Robert Jay King. Survivors include one son, George King III and his wife Christine of Houston, TX; his sister Katherine Gawf of Muskogee, OK; four grandchildren, Robert Jay King, Jr., and Mary Roxanne Williford of Bakersfield, Dustin Timothy King of Las Vegas and Kathryn Marie King of Houston; and four great-grandchildren, Robert III, Hanna, Westin and Wyatt. Mr. King was a Lifetime member and Master (1951) of Sebastion Lodge #706 AF&AM in Fort Smith, AR, a 32 degree member of the Scottish Rite and al Malalkah Shrine Temple member. At his request, no memorial service will be held. The family requests in lieu of flowers, a gift be made to the Houston Hospice for their unwavering commitments to the terminally ill. Legacy.com Published in the Bakersfield Californian on 7/10/2005. Additional Comments: Volunteer submission - No relation to deceased. http://www.legacy.com/bakersfield/LegacyHome.asp File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/kern/obits/kingjr8332gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/caobfiles/ File size: 2.9 Kb