Friends, family remember area leader
King spent 43 years in local banking industry
By Jaime Powell Caller-Times
June 11, 2006
Businessman Richard "Dick" King III's death has left a hole in South Texas that his friends and family say will be difficult to fill.
"I have known thousands of men and seen them in business and he was as unusually as fine a man as I will ever know," said longtime friend and former business partner Robert Rowling. "I don't think I will ever know another man like Dick King. We don't have royalty in the U.S., but he is the closest we are ever going to get."
King, 75, a direct descendant of King Ranch founder Capt. Richard King, died Friday after a three-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a nervous system disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, friends and family said.
He spent 43 years in the local banking industry, retiring as chairman of the Bank of America board of directors in 2003.
King also was a community leader, serving as chairman of Christus Spohn Development Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce and the Corpus Christi Area Economic Development Corp., among others.
Although King was a heck of a businessman and leader, he was an even better friend, Rowling, local businessman Sam L. Susser and longtime friend Charles DeCou agreed Saturday. His sense of humor was legendary and he could tell a story like no other.
"He took me on my first bird hunting trip.," Susser reminisced. "Walking around the ranch with him telling stories kept me charmed for hours on end. He always knew what to say and the right way to say it. He is going to be remembered more as a great friend than even his fantastic business sense. There is no one else like him. Everybody wants to say that when somebody passes, but it is really true."
DeCou said King's last days were rough and that he is in a better place. The years of memories are sweet.
King singing with the mariachis at Mexican restaurants in Laredo, the jokes he told that always made the crowd roar and him talking the preacher at church into hurrying up the church service so that he could get out to the golf course quicker, DeCou said.
"For someone who communicated so well and loved to tell stories and jokes, he was not able to," DeCou saidof King's last days. "It was a hard thing for all of us but you could still tell when he was telling a joke by the twinkle he got in his eye and the upturned grin."
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.
King is survived by two sons, Richard King IV and James Harrison King; a daughter, Kathryn Marie King; two stepdaughters, Lica Layton and Amy Ryder; a stepson, Benjamin Eshleman III; and eight grandchildren.
Contact Jaime Powell at 886-3716 or powellj@ caller.com
Sunday, June 11, 2006
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2 comments:
Dick's main priority in life; his "God,"; what he worshipped; what he put above everyone and everything else in his life, was the Almighty Dollar. The only reason he married Mrs. Eshleman was because the King Ranch was in serious financial trouble, and upon marrying her, she bailed the ranch out of financial trouble. Marriage among these people is merely a business transaction; a financial venture. "What's love got to do with it?"
Many people believe that the word "rancher" and "rich" are synonymous-not true in many cases. The truth is these people fail to pay for a lot of the services they use, to the point that neither banks nor any other people in business will trust them. And it leads to serious financial crises, to the point that the entire ranching operation is put in danger of loss. Yes, ol' Dick may have been "generous" with his money and given to a number of charity organizations. But it was only becaue there was something in it for him...made an impression on "the right people," put him in good standing with someone, or if nothing else, it was a good income tax deduction. Hollywood has so "marbleized" the image of the Texas rancher with movies such as "Giant" and
"The Big Country," that the truth about these folks has been sugar-coated. For the most part, they are scoundrels! And Dick King was the leader of the pack!!
Dick's main priority in life; his "God,"; what he worshipped; what he put above everyone and everything else in his life, was the Almighty Dollar. The only reason he married Mrs. Eshleman was because the King Ranch was in serious financial trouble, and upon marrying her, she bailed the ranch out of financial trouble. Marriage among these people is merely a business transaction; a financial venture. "What's love got to do with it?"
Many people believe that the word "rancher" and "rich" are synonymous-not true in many cases. The truth is these people fail to pay for a lot of the services they use, to the point that neither banks nor any other people in business will trust them. And it leads to serious financial crises, to the point that the entire ranching operation is put in danger of loss. Yes, ol' Dick may have been "generous" with his money and given to a number of charity organizations. But it was only becaue there was something in it for him...made an impression on "the right people," put him in good standing with someone, or if nothing else, it was a good income tax deduction. Hollywood has so "marbleized" the image of the Texas rancher with movies such as "Giant" and
"The Big Country," that the truth about these folks has been sugar-coated. For the most part, they are scoundrels! And Dick King was the leader of the pack!!
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