Leo King, a longtime Palisadian, passed away on May 4. He was 96. King was born in Colorado Springs on January 21, 1908, one of two sons to Frank and Mary Ellen King. His cousin Lois Anthony, who was 20 years younger, remembers him to be ‘the coolest, most good-looking man around, especially when he wore his military uniform.’ King joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the mid-1930s. Similar to the Army in discipline and regimen, the CCC required recruits to wear uniforms, eat in a mess hall and sleep at a base camp, although they did not carry weapons. Serving a two-year term with the CCC, King was stationed outside Golden, Colorado, about 15 miles west of Denver, so was able to go home to north Denver about once a month. During this period, he met and married Mary, who was described as ‘beautiful, kind and kept herself impeccable, never a hair out of place.’ The couple were unable to have children. King joined the U. S. Army at the onset of World War II and served in the Army Ordinance Division, stationed in Maryland. In the 1950s, King continued his military service until his career was interrupted by a near fatal accident. A bomb he was inspecting blew up in his face, which impaired his eyesight and hearing for the rest of his life. Eventually the Kings moved to Pacific Palisades, where they built the fourth house on Chautauqua with their own hands. Planning for all eventualities, King even built a bomb shelter under the driveway of the house, fully stocked with food and water, ‘in case the Russians came over,’ he said. He also built a tree house in the backyard where he spent many hours observing animals and birds in Rustic Canyon. He also converted the back portion of the house into a hair salon for Mary’s hair beauty shop, where she cut and snipped hair for many clients. King was extraordinarily creative with his hands. He designed and carved beautiful wood objects such as fruit and nut bowls with lids. He was also an expert car mechanic, and made his own still for turning wine into brandy. He was thrifty, sometimes a penny pincher, cousin Lois said, explaining, ‘This is common among people reared during the Depression.’ On one trip to Denver to visit relatives in the 1980s, King visited Lois and her husband’s used furniture store. ‘We had purchased a chandelier with hundreds of prisms, and it needed to be assembled in order to be sold. Leo spent at least eight hours accomplishing the task.’ On Leo’s 90th birthday, Lois and her sister came to California to help him celebrate. ‘Though he was nearly blind and deaf, he laughed, joked and reminisced with us,’ Lois said. ‘This brought joy to our hearts. He will be missed in the family, but we know he is enjoying and treasuring the new life with his dear Mary,’ who died in 1996. There are no immediate survivors.
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