Ken King, 42, helped others succeed

Ken King had played tailback during his high school years, so he knew a thing or two about football.

When his eldest son took to the gridiron, Mr. King was there. He offered advice, encouragement and even served as an assistant coach when Tyler played on recreational teams. Then there were the football camps and special practices. Dad supported his prized fullback 100 percent.

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Ken King was married for 20 years to wife Raleigh, who says her husband’s main hobby was to spend time with their children.

“He guided me,” said Tyler King, a 2008 Buford High grad. “He was one of those guys who would say, ‘Don’t quit, never give up. No matter what happens, don’t lay down.’ “

For Mr. King, hobby may as well have been spelled f-a-m-i-l-y. He immersed himself in whatever activity his two sons and daughter were involved in, even if that meant watching “SpongeBob SquarePants” with Nick, his youngest son, said Raleigh King, his wife of 20 years.

“His main hobby would be his kids, anything to do with them,” she said. “Just spending time with them. We didn’t leave the kids and go on vacations and that sort of stuff. They were a part of everything we did.”

Kenneth “Ken” Anthony King, 42, of Suwanee died Friday of a suspected heart attack at his home. The funeral is 2 p.m. Tuesday in the chapel of A.S. Turner & Sons.

Mr. King was born in Columbus but grew up in Inez, Ky. At 17, he joined the Army and served several years with the U.S. Army 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment. He was stationed at Fort Benning when he and a friend paid a visit to Atlanta, where he met Raleigh. They married in 1989. Two years later, Mr. King hurt his left arm in a parachute jump and was honorably discharged.

Mr. King in 1992 joined the sales department for Hunt Sales Co., a retail sales contractor and service firm in Suwanee. He won several awards, including a 2000 “Partnership Award” from Home Depot.

He was the company president and chief executive the past four years.

Mr. King believed in treating employees well. With that came proper training. One example: Years ago, Hunt Sales partnered with the Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center in Kansas to tailor a course specifically for Hunt execs.

“Our people are what make our company,” Mr. King said in a 2005 news release about the partnership. “We invest in our people, and in return, they go and do a good job.”

Dezmond Abrams, Hunt Sales’ information technology director, called Mr. King a father figure who wanted success for everyone.

“We were just working hard on Thursday,” Mr. Abrams said. “He was hyped up about a big meeting we had coming up. He was always positive and wanted us to be positive about the business.”

Additional survivors include a daughter, Hunter King of Suwanee; his father, Kenneth Neal King of Gallipolis, Ohio; a brother, Shawn King of Bowling Green, Ky.; a stepbrother, Donald Brewer Jr. of Columbus, Ohio; and his stepfather, Donald Brewer Sr. of Inez, Ky.