Obituary of Helen B. King

HELEN KING passed away peacefully on January 12th, 2018. Having battled MS since she was 15, she was an inspiration to all that knew her. She never let the MS stop her from doing anything. She was a true renaissance woman being as skilled with a paint brush as she was with a 20-gauge shotgun. Helen, or Lonnie which was a nick name that she preferred was born in Jersey City New Jersey on May 5th, 1938 to Raymond Elmer Barton and Helen Gertrude Barton. The family lived in Jersey City for short time before moving to Brooklyn NY where they lived through the war years. After the war the family moved to Dumont, NJ where Helen lived until she graduated from Dumont Highschool in 1956. She made a home in Woodcliff Lake NJ where she raised her family. After her husband Stan's passing she called Plano TX home for almost 10 years. Her knowledge was far beyond her formal schooling. There were very few subjects that she didn't know something or a lot about. She loved science and always wanted to talk about the latest discoveries and technology. She was active in local politics and was not shy about sharing her views. She made phone calls and stuffed flyers for candidates she supported. She was philanthropic, supporting many organizations with generous donations. Her favorite being the local food bank. She would say "I have been lucky, and it is important to give back." She was an accomplished painter, crafter and sketch artist, and won many awards from various competitions that she entered. She was involved in the various Women's Clubs and for a few years it was an activity that she was able to enjoy with her mother. She was married to Stan King for almost 40 years, up until his passing in 2005. Together they had many adventures, she said "I have had an exciting life." They hunted wild boar and caiman crocodiles in the Amazon rainforest, fished for marlin off the coast of Peru and were accomplished skeet shooters. Helen was New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Tri-state Women's Skeet 20-gauge shotgun Champion for 4 consecutive years. She was also qualified as pistol marksmen. Stan loved to pick targets seemly impossible to hit and make nickel bets with his friends if she could hit them. Stan never lost a nickel. After Stan's passing Helen joined the Board of Directors of the family company, SG companies. Together with the company's management team they continued to grow and diversify the company continuing its 100 plus year history of success. The company's former CFO said of her "She had vision beyond the immediate, both good and bad and always thought about where we were heading and what was the outlook. For a woman of her generation, she demonstrated remarkable determination, perseverance, grit, experience, and plain common sense." She is survived by her sons Scott E. King of Plano, TX, and Steven K. King of Orangeburg, NY, her sisters Lynn Clay of Chicago, Illinois and Dorothy Nelsen of Austin, TX. She had 9 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren. She touched so many people in so many ways and will be greatly missed. The family asks that a donation to your local food bank be made in lieu of flowers. Visitation will be on Friday, March 9th from 10 – 11 AM with a prayer service at 10:45 AM by Reverend Steve McClelland with burial to follow at Hackensack Cemetery.