William Oliver King, Sr.

William Oliver “Bill” King Sr. of Durham, N.C. passed away peacefully at Duke Medical Center on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. He was 85 years old.

Bill came from humble beginnings in Louisburg, N.C. — his father ran a country store where Bill started working when he was 7 years old — yet he went on to reach the top of his profession.

Bill always said he treasured four things in life: his faith, his family, his friends, and the University of North Carolina. He earned a BA degree in English/Journalism in 1959 from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity and a sports editor for the Daily Tar Heel. After two years as a sports reporter and columnist for The (Durham) Herald-Sun, he earned a JD degree in 1964 from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was President of the Student Bar Association.

Bill practiced law in Durham for more than 50 years, finishing his career as a mediator and of counsel with Walker Lambe, PLLC, in Durham, where he was a Trial Lawyer. He is the only attorney to serve concurrently as president of the North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, now the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He later received the N.C. State Bar’s John McMillan Distinguished Service Award and the N.C. Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award. In 2018, he was one of 23 inductees in the inaugural class of the North Carolina Lawyers Hall of Fame.

Bill was Past President of the Durham County/14th Judicial District, Past President of the American Board of Trial Advocates (N.C. Eastern District), National Board, American Board of Trial Advocates, delegate to the American Bar Association, Executive Committee, National Conference of Bar Presidents, and he served two 5-year terms on the State Bar’s Client Security Fund, of which he was chairman twice.

He served six years on the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission, he was the former Chairman of the N.C. State Bar Grievance Committee, a member of the N.C. State Bar’s Disciplinary Hearing Commission, and a member of the Board, Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.

He was listed in ”Best Lawyers in America,” N.C. “Super Lawyers,” and was named “Leaders in the Law” by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

Bill served as Adjunct professor of law at Campbell University Law School for more than 10 years, teaching Trial Practice, Ethics and Law Practice Management. He was a career-long member of the N.C. Bar Association and a frequent speaker at various CLE events.

In a 1997 interview with The Herald-Sun, he said: “As trite as it sounds, I have the attitude that I want to give back more than I’ve taken out.”

Bill was a faithful member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Durham, where he served five terms as Senior Warden.

He retired as Colonel after 33 years in the North Carolina Army National Guard, for which he served as State Judge Advocate for three years.

He was a member of the Durham JC's and Friendly City Kiwanis Club, also President of Durham Tar Heel Club.

Bill loved to travel with his family and rarely missed a Final Four or bowl game when the Tar Heels were involved. For the past decade, he has enjoyed watching and supporting the UNC tennis teams. His favorite places to visit were Hilton Head Island, S.C. and Scottsdale, Ariz.

He was a devoted husband for 61 years, a loving and supportive father, the best “Pop Pop” that any two grandchildren could have ever wanted, and a beloved uncle, great-uncle and now great-great uncle to many nieces and nephews and their spouses and children.

Bill was predeceased by his mother, Louise Rentz King and father, James Benjamin King, sister Martha Grey Wilkerson (Herbert), brother James King (Brenda), nephew Herbert Wilkerson (Jean), and niece Catherine King.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 61 years, Virginia Vann “Ginger” King of Durham, two sons, William Oliver King Jr., of Siesta Key, Fla., and Bradley Vann King of Winston-Salem, N.C., two grandchildren who were the light of his life for the past two decades, William Davis King of Raleigh, N.C., and Louise Vann King of Winston-Salem, nieces Louise Wilkerson Perry (Tom Bruno) of Richmond, Va., Chrissie Wilkerson Edwards (Clifton) of Greenville, N.C., Martha Wilkerson Rafferty (Steve) of Raleigh, nephews Jim King (Nancy) of Anniston, Ala., and John King (Alysia) of Rochester, N.Y., and many great-nieces and nephews as well as great-great nieces and nephews who all adored “Uncle Bill.”

There are not words to express how much this sweet, hilarious, wonderful man did for our family and how much he meant to us. We will never forget him and will forever cherish all the memories with which he leaves us.

A service to celebrate his life will be held on Friday, October 14 at 11 a.m., at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 82 Kimberly Drive, Durham, N.C., 27707.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be made to St. Stephens Church, 82 Kimberly Drive, Durham, NC 27707, or Caring House 2625 Pickett Rd., Durham, NC.