Mary Beth King

Mary Beth was a beacon of kindness, compassion, and leadership within the Plano community.

She was born on November 18, 1948, in Xenia, Ohio to Raymond and Leona Blocker. She was a 1966 graduate of the Xenia public schools and briefly attended Wright State University. Soon afterward she moved to Texas and initially worked as a hospital ward clerk and later as a respiration therapist.

In 1976 she met David King while they were both volunteering at the local PBS station fund raising auction, and they began dating. They married on May 14, 1977, and by the end of that year they moved into their first home in Plano, Texas. They had two sons, Andrew (1981) and Matthew (1983).

Mary Beth immediately became active in the Plano community, starting a Welcome Wagon Club, joining the Women’s Division of the Plano Chamber of Commerce and The Classics, a volunteer organization that brought theater performances to groups of children and students in the public schools. She soon became responsible for booking the groups to perform for The Classics and later served as president of the organization. Thus began a service pattern that she repeated for decades: identifying a worthy non-profit organization, volunteering to help, accepting increasing responsibility, serving in a leadership role.

A few of the many organizations she was involved in include United Way of Plano, Leadership Plano Class 3, Leadership Plano Alumni, Junior League of Plano, Heritage Farmstead, American Heart Association, City of Plano Arts Festival Committee, Collin County United Way, and the Volunteer Center of Collin County.

When her son, Matthew, was born with Down Syndrome she also focused her attention on the special needs community. She was active in the South Collin County Infant Program, Association for Retarded Citizens, Down Syndrome Guild, Collin County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Board of Directors and the Down Syndrome Congress. Mary Beth was a tireless advocate for inclusion of special needs students in the public schools and worked to obtain appropriate funding for special education.

Mary Beth had a burning passion for public education. Examples of her service in this arena include several individual school PTAs, Plano ISD Council of PTAs, Site Based Management Committees, and many other individual school committees. She served on many district-wide committees for the Plano Independent School District including Practical Parent Education, Strategic Planning Committee, Special Education Advisory Committee, Counselor Advisory Committee, Calendar Committee and the Teacher of the Year Planning Committee. She also served on the Collin County Community College Foundation Board.

One of her special talents was her ability to recruit others to volunteer to help with her organizations, projects, and events. Her enthusiasm, talent and expertise seemed to attract people to help with her many worthy causes.

In 1994, Mary Beth had some strong views on a number of the issues that the Plano ISD Board of Trustees was going to be facing and she decided that it was up to her to do something about it. Although she had never had any political aspirations and had an aversion to public speaking, she decided to run for a seat on the School Board in 1995. She won the election and was re-elected several times after that, serving a total of 15 years on the Board. For 5 of those years, she was elected President of the Board by her fellow trustees.

While on the School Board, she was also active on the regional and state levels serving as president of the North Texas Association of School Boards and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) for 9 years. Mary Beth participated in the Leadership TASB program and was certified as a Master Trustee. She advocated with legislators on the state and national levels for adequate funding for public schools for many years.

Mary Beth received numerous awards and recognitions for her volunteer activities. Some examples are a PTA Life Membership, Leadership Plano Distinguished Leadership Award, Volunteer of the Year in Education Award, Leadership TASB Outstanding Alumni Award, Plano Bar Association Liberty Bell Award and 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Award.

One of her little known contributions was acting as a mentor to dozens of students over the years. Local schools identified students that could benefit from this type of support and Mary Beth would meet with them, encourage them and help them meet their goals. She often said that this one-on-one counseling was one of her most gratifying activities.

In May of 2010 Mary Beth retired from the School Board and she and her husband David were able to pursue their goal of traveling to many different parts of the country and the world. They particularly enjoyed cruising to numerous ports around the globe. She also doted on her two grandchildren, Mason and Jenna, whom she absolutely adored.

One of the achievements of which she was most proud was the founding of Women Making A Difference in Plano. In 2011 she met with a group of her friends and proposed an organization that would meet 4 times a year and select a Plano non-profit to receive their donations. Women Making A Difference in Plano has grown to over 100 active members since then and has donated over $420,000 to worthy Plano organizations.

Mary Beth was a loving mother and grandmother, survived by her husband of 47 years, David; sons, Andrew (and his wife Jayme) and Matthew; and grandchildren, Mason and Jenna. She was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Leona Blocker; brother, Jay Blocker; and sister, Barbara Tobias.

A celebration of her life will be held on Friday, September 13, 2024, at 2:00 pm at the Ted Dickey Funeral Home, located at 2128 18th Street, Plano, Texas.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Plano ISD Education Foundation, Hendricks Scholarship Foundation, Leadership Plano, or a charity of your choosing.

Mary Beth's legacy of kindness and community service will be remembered by all who knew her.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.TedDickeyFuneral.com for the family.

Arrangements by Ted Dickey Funeral Home.