Thomas Owen King, resident of Grande Prairie AB, passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 2nd, 2025 at Mckenzie Place, ten days before his 89th birthday.

Tom was born in Lethbridge AB and raised in Raymond AB. This is where he also met and married Marie (Nalder) King and they started raising a family. He frequently traveled to Northern Alberta for work. In 1967, he and Marie moved to Grande Prairie with their seven children. The last two children in the family were born in Grande Prairie.

It is difficult to imagine Tom ever having a dull moment. He had a very diverse repertoire of creativity, curiosity, skills, and activities, and he dove into his interests with passion. As a boy he was fascinated with the WWII airplanes and pilots. Not surprisingly, he obtained his pilot’s license as soon as he reached the age requirement. He maintained a commercial license well into retirement, and contracted flights into remote areas across the north. He owned a few different planes over the years and spent time building ultralight planes, training ultralight pilots, as well as running a crop spray business with his sons.

Music was a lifelong passion for Tom, who played in a band in his early twenties, and continued to play musical instruments his entire life. He and Marie ran a music store in the Prairie Mall for a few years, and music was an integral part of family activity.

A proficient sportsman, Tom’s children grew up on a lot of wild game and fish. They were also sometimes toted out with him on hunting and fishing expeditions. He loved boating, and spent many summers with family at lakes, or on the river. In the early 1980’s he graced the cover of Sportsman illustrated with a fish measuring over 3 feet long. He also salvaged and restored a few old boats.

Tom’s post-secondary education was in industrial electrician training, which his drive for diversity found too restrictive. His career path extended into infrastructure where he worked with reservoir, road, and bridge construction, finishing his working career with Weyerhaeuser GP. At Weyerhaeuser he invented a tool for breaking up logjams, which his coworkers dubbed the “Tommy-Knocker”. After retirement he built and sold log splitters that supplemented his income. Ever a creative problem solver Tom was always tinkering with, fixing, inventing, or building things.

Tom was predeceased by his parents Ross Dennis King and Gladys Vivian (Nilsson) King, his son Thomas, his wife Marie, and his brother Doug.

He will be missed by his wife Jovita (Guilaran) King, his sisters Ginny (King) Hennigar, Sheila (King) Handley, his children Corinne King, Barry King, Heather King, Loren & Rhona (Thomson) King, Michelle (King) Gray, Marc and Renae (King) Bowen, Jason & Samantha (Luff) King, Stephanie King, and several grandchildren, great- grandchildren, and one great greatgrandchild.

In October 2024, Tom was admitted into the Grande Prairie Hospital for emergency surgery. From surgery he went into acute care where his medical needs were assessed as beyond what his wife Jovita could continue to provide at home. Despite the number of medical challenges he faced, Tom maintained a sharp sense of humor, was gracious and appreciative to all his caregivers as well as visitors. In March 2025, a placement came open for him in Mackenzie Place Grande Prairie, and within a week of his arrival he was attached to the staff, connecting with residents, and expressed heartfelt sentiment that this was now home to him. The King family are grateful for the compassion and care that Tom received during his rapid decline.

At Tom’s request there will be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers donations made to a charity of choice will be gratefully appreciated.