Naomi King memorial service set for Saturday at Ebenezer

Wife of A.D. King died March 7
Portrait of Naomi King, widow of A.D. King, brother of Martin Luther King Jr, at the King Birth Home in Atlanta on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. A little more than a year after Martin Luther King Jr., was killed in Memphis, his brother, A.D. King, who had long toiled in his brother’s shadow, drowned in his swimming pool. With his death, A.D. King has virtually vanished from the landscape and for the most part serves as a mere footnote in civil rights history. His widow is trying to change that through a foundation she created in his name. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Portrait of Naomi King, widow of A.D. King, brother of Martin Luther King Jr, at the King Birth Home in Atlanta on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. A little more than a year after Martin Luther King Jr., was killed in Memphis, his brother, A.D. King, who had long toiled in his brother’s shadow, drowned in his swimming pool. With his death, A.D. King has virtually vanished from the landscape and for the most part serves as a mere footnote in civil rights history. His widow is trying to change that through a foundation she created in his name. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

For the third time in less than a year, the King family will gather at Ebenezer Baptist Church to say goodbye.

The family announced Wednesday that a public memorial for Naomi Ruth Barber King will be held Saturday at the church.

King, the wife of the Rev. Alfred Daniel (A.D.) Williams King, the younger brother of Martin Luther King Jr., died on March 7 at the age of 92.

In this Jan. 2014 file photo, Naomi King talks about her husband, A.D. King, the brother of Martin Luther King Jr. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

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A private family memorial service will be held Friday.

Naomi King married A.D. King in June of 1950 and followed him throughout the South as he pastored churches and worked alongside his brother in the civil rights movement.

A.D. King died in 1969, just 15 months after his brother’s assassination.

The King family has been directly affiliated with Ebenezer since 1894. As of late, the church has been a refuge for the family.

In July of 2023 the funeral of Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King’s older sister, was held there.

Family members of Christine King Farris stand beside her casket as celebrations begin honoring her legacy at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, July 16, 2023.
Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez

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Credit: Miguel Martinez

And in February, the church hosted a stunning candlelight evening memorial service for Dexter Scott King, who died of prostate cancer.

Naomi King’s memorial service will begin at 4 p.m.

Butterflies, which became a part of Naomi King’s persona and style, will be released in front of the King Center following the service.

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