Margaret King

Charlotte - Margaret Rodwell King, 88, died peacefully on the morning of August 31, 2014 at Brighton Gardens in Charlotte, N.C. Margaret was born on February 3, 1926 in Warrenton, N.C. to Herman Walter and Alice Brittain Rodwell.

A graduate of Saint Mary's School, Margaret earned a degree in English from Duke University in 1947. At Duke, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Following graduation, she married Parks King and moved to Charlotte, raised four children, and became an active member of the Republican Party, which included working in the campaigns of Charles Raper Jonas, James Holshouser, and serving as Chairman of four Jim Martin Congressional campaigns, state co-chair of Martin for Governor, North Carolina co-chair of the President Ford committee, and president of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women. Margaret was elected to the NC Republican Hall of Fame for her outstanding service during a volunteer career that spanned more than 50 years. Margaret was also a member of the Junior League of Charlotte, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Board of Trustees, and First Presbyterian Church. A voracious reader, she remained connected to her alma mater through the Duke Women's Studies program, and also enjoyed traveling. Margaret was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She will be dearly missed.

She is survived by her children, Nancy King Bell and husband William Nawrot Bell of Raleigh, N.C., James Howerton King and wife Sharon Jones King of Charlotte, and John Philip King of Charlotte; five grandchildren, Jonathan Brodnax Bell and William Cameron Bell; and Laura King Edwards, Stephen Howerton King and Anna Taylor King; and one great-grandchild, Kora Jean Bell. Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, Parks McCombs King, Jr.; son, Robert Morrison King; and sister, Elizabeth Rodwell Tucker.

A service of remembrance will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 2 p.m. on Monday, September 8, 2014, followed by a reception in the fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Taylor's Tale, 7804 Fairview Road, Box 135, Charlotte, N.C. 28226-4998, www.TaylorsTale.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against rare disease, founded in honor of Margaret's granddaughter.