Mae Pearl Stallins King

Mae Pearl Stallins King, of Southern Pines, formerly of Charlotte, died Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, surrounded by her family.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at the old Historic Bethesda Church, on Bethesda Road in Aberdeen (please dress warmly because this church has no heat), followed by a reception at 203 MuirKirk Way in Aberdeen.
Mrs. King was born Feb. 1, 1929, in Pinckneyville, Ill., the youngest of four children of Ronald Baker and Ausie Veal Stallins. After graduating from Campbell Hill High School in Campbell Hill, Ill., she attended Central Radio and Television Schools in Kansas City, Mo.
She was the second student in her class to be offered a position with Eastern Air Lines as a radio operator in Charleston, S.C., where she met her future husband, Jesse J. King Jr., who worked as an air traffic controller in the Charleston tower. They were married Sept.16, 1949. Mr. King preceded her in death on Nov. 14, 1972.
After her husband’s death, Mrs. King worked for several railroads, including the Illinois-Central-Gulf, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Union Pacific as a customer service representative. She was very good at, and enjoyed the challenge of, solving problems for the railroads’ customers. She was a creative thinker and loved learning new things all her life.
But her true gift was in bringing beauty into the lives and surroundings of her family and friends. Mom (aka “More-Mommy”) generously shared this gift with us all. She imparted to us all a love for beauty as well as an appreciation for the value of education and of lifelong learning. She had a keen intelligence and sense of humor that will be deeply missed. She was much loved by all who knew her.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents; her twin brothers, Robert Lynn Stallins, of Yuba City, Calif., in 1957, and Raymond Edward Stallins, of Yuba City, in 1990; her grandson Brian Christopher Dover, in 1985; and her brother-in-law Nelson Smith, of Peoria, Ill., in 2002.
Mrs. King is survived by her sister, Augusta Smith, of Peoria, Ill.; her three children, Dr. Cydney King Mullen (Paul), of Southern Pines, Gregory James King (Marcia), of Pittsboro, and Carmady King Kruger (Sandy), of Salisbury; her grandchildren Jason Garreth King (fiancee Tami Beyer), Amy Mullen O’Neill (Matthew), Lauren Mullen Kemp (Dustin), Carolyn Margaret Mullen, Nicole Ray King (fiance Brandon Brown), Stefanie Alyson King, Jake Austin Kruger and Caroline Mae Kruger; step-grandsons Jayson Mullen (Chantal) and Nicholas Mullen; and six great-grandchildren.
Instead of flowers, please honor “Pearly” with a donation in her memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, or to The Haven-Friends for Life, 400 Fulford McMillan Road, Raeford, NC 28376. Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines is serving the family.