Obituary of Jacqueline Kidd King

Jacqueline (Jackie) Kidd King of Wytheville, VA, died Thursday, April 30, 2020, at the age of 84 after a two and half year-long battle with ovarian cancer. Born Jacqueline Neff Kidd on February 26, 1936, she was the youngest child of Frances Neff Kidd Akers and Tyler Frazier Kidd. She graduated from Rural Retreat High School and attended Radford College. She was married to her husband William (Bill) Frazier King of Rural Retreat, VA for 62 years. They moved to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, where they lived for 2 years while Bill served in the Army. After being discharged, Bill and Jackie moved back to Wythe County and eventually made their home in Wytheville, VA, where they started their family. They had three children, Karen, Jeffrey and Michael. Jackie and Bill owned and operated Bill King’s Furniture, Inc. for over 30 years before their retirement in 2004. Jackie was a lifelong Lutheran and was proud to have been a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Wytheville for over 50 years. She was very active in numerous organizations throughout the years, including The Links Women’s Club, where she served as President, the Junior Woman’s Club, where she served as President, and American Cancer Society, where she served as Drive Chairwoman. She especially loved her time volunteering at the Wythe County Community Hospital where she brought compassion and cheer to patients and visitors. Jackie was a member of the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce and was also elected as their first woman President. In 2018, Jackie was honored with the Outstanding Citizenship Award by the Chamber of Commerce. But despite all these accomplishments and contributions, her greatest joy was dedicating time to her community on Wytheville Town Council. She served on town council for 28 years and was very proud to be the first woman elected as Vice-Mayor, a position that she held for the last 26 years. As part of Town Council she was a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, the Wytheville Recreation Commission, the Virginia a Corridor Committee, the Mount Rogers Planning District Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee, the Rural Retreat/Wythe Country Lake Authority, the Wythe County Vocational School Advisory Board, and served as former Chairperson of the Wall of Honor Committee. Jackie was instrumental in bringing the Wytheville Recreation Center and Meeting Center to fruition, and the Meeting Center held a very special place in her heart. Jackie was preceded in death by her parents; her daughter, Karen Lynn King; her sister, Joyce Whitmer; her step-father, Irving Nile Akers; and her beloved dog Zoie. She is survived by her husband, Bill; her two sons, Jeffrey King of Christiansburg, VA, and Michael (Shai) King of Atlanta, GA; her two grandsons, Dylan King of Richmond, VA, and Tristan King of Harrisonburg, VA; her two sisters, Jean Delp of Rural Retreat, VA and June Wheeler of Atkins, VA; brother, Frank Akers of Burlingame, CA; and numerous nieces, nephews and special friends. A graveside service will be held Monday, May 4th at 2 p.m. at West End Cemetery in Wytheville, Virginia. To accommodate the gathering restrictions, the service will be live-streamed on the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Facebook page. Family will receive visitors’ condolences in conjunction with a memorial service to be held later this year. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 405 West Main Street, Wytheville, VA 24382. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.grubbfuneralhome.com Grubb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.