Kent King, Missouri commissioner of education, is dead
D. Kent King, the state’s top education official, has died.
This note went out early this afternoon, from the department he oversaw, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in Jefferson City:
From: DESE Public Information
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 1:34 PM
To: School Administrators
Subject: D. Kent King, 1943-2009
School Administrators:
Our colleague and friend, D. Kent King, passed away today (January 7) at his home in Rolla.
We will provide you with more details soon about funeral arrangements and memorial gifts in lieu of flowers.Jim Morris
DESE Public Information Office
And here is King’s official obituary, approved by the family and also sent by the department:
Dr. D. Kent King, Missouri Commissioner of Education and a long-time leader in Missouri’s public education system, passed away January 7, 2009, at his home in Rolla, Missouri, at the age of 65. Kent was born at Preston (Hickory County) to the late Morris Samuel (Tuck) and Wilma McKenzie King on September 19, 1943.
Surviving Kent are his wife Sandy and three children: Tracy James and husband Doug, Rolla; Derik King and wife Jackie, Ladue; and Kevin King, St. Louis. Also surviving are his pride and joy, his grandchildren: Kayla James, Kelsi James, Kathryne King, Sarah King and Samuel Kent King. Other survivors include one brother, Jim King and wife Julia, Columbia; mother-in-law Jewell Bradshaw and brother-in-law Tim Bradshaw, Urbana; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
After completing his undergraduate degree in English in three years at Central Missouri State University (1964), Kent began his 44-year career in education. He was an English teacher and junior high school principal at Houston for six years. He received his master’s degree from Drury College (1967) and his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) from Oklahoma State University (1972).
For the next six years (1971-77), he was superintendent of schools for the Licking School District. He served the next 19 years (1977-96) as superintendent of the Rolla Public Schools. Kent joined the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 1996. He was appointed Commissioner of Education in 2000 by the State Board of Education and served in that capacity until his death. He is only the fourth person to hold the office of Missouri Commissioner of Education.
Funeral services for Kent will be held at the First United Methodist Church Rolla (803 North Main), at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 11, 2009. Visitation also will be held at the church from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, 2009. Internment will follow at Rolla Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made to the D. Kent King Memorial Fund, c/o Champions of Rolla Education (CORE), PO Box 1204, Rolla, MO 65402.
Truly, he was a good man and did a lot for education in Missouri. Our prayers are with the family. He fought the good fight.
My condolences to Mr. King’s family. He was truly a great public servant. On another note, while the obit column in today’s P-D was actually quite complete and well-written, I do have a bone to pick with whoever (Hunn, Giegerich, or Hahn)failed to mention that Michael Podgursky, cited in the obit column, is not only a long-time observer of education, etc. as stated in the column, but also the Director of the “scholars” program at the notoriously right-wing think tank: the Show-me Institute. (By the way, I love Naomi Klein’s definition, which I paraphrase, of a think tank: comprised of hacks paid to think by the makers of tanks!)The Show-Me Institute is the junior partner to the Cato Institute and a pet project funded by the super-rich Republican Rex Sinquefield. Come on, P-D staff–how about some transparency and a little “fairness and balance” in your reporting. You all may admire Fox “News” but how about paying a little bit of lip service to their oxymoronic slogan of “fairness and balance”? I will give you all this: at least the obit didn’t use purple phrasing like “he never backed down” like Mr. Hunn and Mr. Townsend did when weeping about the end of the former Archbishop Burke’s reign last August! Come on, P-D staff, put down the Fox “News” kool-aid and have a fresh, hot cup of locally-brewed java so you can join the rest of us who have awakened from our long, torturous nightmare under the Cheney/Bush cabal!