Vernon King

Vernon D. King, Sr., age 85, of Birmingham, passed away on Nov. 23, 2015. He was preceded in death by his parents, W.O. King, Sr. and Adele Dixon King; his brother, W. Oscar King, Jr.; sisters, Betty King Dean and Peggy King Tucker, all of North Carolina. Vernon was born in Durham, NC. He served with the First Marine Division in the Korean Conflict as a Hospital Corpsman Second Class, and was honorably discharged from the US Navy in November 1953. He was awarded the Korean Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal. He attended Wake Forest College in NC, and graduated from Howard College School of Pharmacy (now Samford University) in 1957. He was employed by a pharmaceutical company and several drugstores and hospitals over several years. In 1971, he was the first Chief Pharmacist, and later Assistant Administrator of Clinical Services at Mercy Hospital (now Cooper Green Mercy Hospital). At one time he owned and operated King's Lincoln Drug in Lincoln, AL. He worked 18 years as a hospital pharmacist at Trinity Medical Center, where he retired at age 79 in 2010. He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Betty Sue Davidson King; his children, Donna King Chambliss (Karl), V. Dixon King, Jr., M.D. (Astrid) of Baltimore, MD; his sister, Patsy King Perry (June), of North Carolina; his grandchildren, Natalie Chambliss, of Birmingham, Laura Chambliss Stough (Clint), of Tuscaloosa, Jules, Rene, Grady and Irene Allbritton-King, of Baltimore, MD; and great-grandson Tristan Thomas Stough. Visitation will be held Sunday, November 29 at 1:00pm in the parlor at East Lake United Methodist Church, followed by funeral at 2:00pm in the church sanctuary. Interment will follow at Jefferson Memorial Gardens East. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to East Lake United Methodist Church or your favorite charity.