William Anthony "Tony" King

William Anthony “Tony” King, 71, of Hillister, Tx went home to be with the Lord on June 30, 2020.

He was born on September 6, 1948 in Magnolia, Arkansas to Howard and Carrie King.  He was the son of a farmer in Magnolia.  He joined the army at 17 years old.  He served three years in the United States Army in the 101st Airborne Division as a mechanic.  Out of his three years, he served one year in Vietnam.  He was honorably discharged on December 5, 1968 with the rank of E5 and he received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign medal, Vietnam Service medal and the Parachute Badge.  He went on with civilian life as a 20 year old man and begun working in the oil field on and off shore.  In the spring of 1969, he met the love of his life, Paula.  They were married on December 18, 1969 in Springhill, LA.  Not long after they were married, he left the oil field work and began to build water towers and learned how to weld.  He was a welder in the tank building business.  He built storage tanks and pressure vessels in the Petro-Chemical business.  He worked in oil refineries, chemical and nuclear facilities all over the United States.  He retired full time in 2005 as being a 100% x-ray welder for 35 years.  They lived in Hillister, Tx for 35 years and were members of Bethel Baptist Church in Warren, Tx for 30 years.  He enjoyed his retirement life working in his gardens on his tractors, building metal objects in his shop, welding and traveling with Paula in their travel trailer visiting friends and family throughout the U.S.  He also had a love for kayaking through creeks with friends

He is preceded in death by his devoted wife of 49 years, Paula Sue King, his parents and his two brothers.

Tony is survived by his three sons, Rev. Ed King and wife, Alicia of Bay Springs, MS, Tony King and wife, Wendy of Wildwood and Chad King of Hillister; nephew, Howard Ray King and wife, Patty of Kingwood; niece, Ruth Paul and husband, David of Oklahoma.  Beloved Paw-Paw to his grandchildren, Lauren and husband, Bobby Daggett, Will, Josh, Tabitha, Cameron, Matthew, Kelsey and husband, John Bradley, Kylie and fiancé, Mason Lyday, Austin, Kloey, Aadin and Dusti; great grandson, Jaxson Bradley, Kashton Nichol and  great granddaughter, Olivia Daggett due to arrive in November.

A celebration of Tony’s life will be held Saturday, July 4, 2020, at 11 am at the Bethel Baptist Church in Warren with interment to follow at Village Mills Cemetery.  Visitation will be held Saturday from 10 am until the time of the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Bethel Baptist Church, Warren, Texas.

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