Well-lived life of a humble giant of education, business and theology
OBITUARY: Wilfred James (Jimmy) King December 11 1939 to March 16 2024
Brother, cousin, uncle, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, pastor, businessman, principal, marriage officer, counselor, teacher, community leader all these titles describe a life well lived.
Wilfred James (Jimmy) King was born on December 11 1939 in Mthatha, the eldest of five children born to David Walter (Tolboy) and Gerty King.
He completed his primary schooling in Mthatha and then moved to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) where he stayed with family friends and attended Paterson High up to grade 10.
His father, David Walter, then enrolled him at Kokstad High, where he completed his matric.
He worked for two years as a roads and works clerk in Tsolo while waiting for a response to his applications to study as a teacher.
The only college that accepted him for a teaching diploma was the Afrikaanslanguage Oudtshoorn Training College.
That did not deter him he convinced his parents that he would adapt.
He completed four years of study in Oudtshoorn and where he learnt to master the Afrikaans language, already being fluent in English and isiXhosa.
After completing his studies, he was offered a post in Mthatha, at his old primary school.
There he became the class teacher of the Afrikaans senior class standards five and six (grades 7 and 8).
It was during his first year of teaching that he met and married Cynthia Canham from Lusikisiki.
Having taught for three years in
Mthatha, the department of education offered him a principal post in Dordrecht.
While he was performing his duties in Dordrecht, the department gave him a post in Queenstown (Komani) at Louis Rex.
During all this time, he was studying and pioneering churches for the Apostolic Faith Mission.
He contributed immensely to the economy of the Eastern Cape as a businessperson and local employer with General Trading Stores in Brownsville (Umkhapuzi) and Weltevrede (Swartwater) and later Eyethu Wholesalers in Komani.
He completed his B.Ed and M.Ed in education through Unisa. He later received an honourary doctorate in theology from TIBU (Trinity International Bible University), which has its head offices in Ghana, in conjunction with Balls Bridge University, which is recognised by the UK, US and Singapore.
He was a great husband, father, brother and leader in the community multi-talented, humble, reserved —a person who never boasted about his achievements even after receiving his doctorate.
He was very patient.
On weekends he would transport his congregants to church.
As a teacher, he was a whizz in mathematics.
As an educator, he helped teachers upgrade their level of education.
Many of the teachers that he coached were promoted to higher positions in the various departments.
He was approached to assist with the opening of a teaching college campus in Komani, where students were admitted from all over the country.
These were students that had matriculated, but were not admitted to other colleges.
These students would have been lost in the system, but instead, through his efforts, they became professionals and contributed to the economy of the country.
As a pastor, he was a social worker in the community.
Most importantly, many souls were saved for the kingdom of God.
A life of 85 years could never be condensed in five minutes.
Jimmy leaves behind five children, 18 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, a brother and a sister.
A giant has fallen. May his soul rest in peace.