Eric King

Charlie King

Charlie King passed away in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 11 at the age of 91. A self-described “generalist in biology,” Charlie could communicate to both the scientist and the layman. His ability to talk to anyone—combined with both cultural and natural history knowledge—made him an engaging speaker. His stories were both educational and entertaining. He also had a big impact on students of all ages, with many saying he was their most influential teacher. His teaching extended beyond the classroom and ranged from mentoring others in their educational pursuits to mailing them interesting newspaper clippings. Charles Crawford King was born January 12, 1933, in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and grew up next to the Allegheny River. He spent his childhood summers up-river in Emlenton where he worked the family farms (pitching hay and driving horses) while studying the environment (collecting insects, learning beekeeping, and studying flowers and trees). Two huge influences during those summers were his father (for teaching him plant names) and his great aunt Etta (for helping raise him). After attending Marietta College in Ohio and getting a masters and doctorate at Ohio State, he became a biology professor at Malone College in Canton, Ohio. In addition to classroom work he led students on many field trips including ones to West Virginia, Eastern Canada, the West Coast of the U.S., and Jamaica. He was responsible for planting many of the trees on campus, and a Treewalk was dedicated to him in 2018. He also helped found The Wilderness Center in Wilmot, Ohio. In 1972 he moved to Columbus and Ohio State to become the Executive Director of the Ohio Biological Survey, an administrative unit of the College of Biological Sciences. He interacted with biologists, the university community, those in government, and Ohio citizens while also being an adjunct professor of Entomology and teaching Ecology for Landscape Architects. He inspired the creation of the book Ohio’s Natural Heritage, researched the prairies of the Darby Plains, and organized a large conference for the American Institute of Biological Sciences (where everyone received a buckeye). Other activities included a vegetation inventory of Muirfield Village in Dublin, helping to found the Cedar Bog Association, and authoring the book A Legacy of Stewardship: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 1949-1989. With his retirement in 1992, Charlie and his devoted wife Anita moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where he was active in 4-H clubs and the Colorado Native Plant Society. They traveled the entire continent; highlights included canoeing in Northern Ontario, horse packing in the Colorado wilderness, camping the length of the Baja Peninsula, and visiting the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. In 2011 they moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they enjoyed the cultural offerings of concerts, lectures, and museums. Charlie loved maps and always knew where he was; he’d read the landscape wherever he went. His favorite road was U.S. Route 62 (which runs from El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York), and he appreciated geographic quirks such as The Northwest Angle in Minnesota and Point Roberts in Washington. Over the years he went through two Studebaker Larks, then two VW buses, two Chevy Vegas, two Chevy Chevettes, and two Jeeps. He was a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, and the Ohio State Buckeyes; he got OSU football family season tickets for 52 consecutive years. He was a big fan of bluegrass music (going back to its very beginning) and attended numerous bluegrass festivals. Charlie had a great sense of humor and would inject it anywhere; a Malone student remembers him entering the classroom on the first day wearing Groucho Marx glasses. At the conclusion of a prairie conference in 1982, he presented his slideshow of a new species—“Helianthus rota-plasticus.” The audience of academics (who knew their Latin) were highly entertained and loved it. Recognitions include the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Hall of Fame, The Nature Conservancy Oak Leaf Award, and the Nature Conservancy in Ohio Honorary Life Trustee. He is preceded in death by parents Cletus and Margaret King, sister Audrey Jean King McGahen, and daughter Connie King Bruins. He is survived by his wife Anita King of New Mexico, son Jerry (Laura) King of Virginia, daughter Linda King (Tim) Courlas of Columbus, Ohio, daughter Sylvia King (Ron) Tietbohl of Georgia, son Eric (Jennifer) King of Cincinnati, Ohio, their mother Nicki King of Columbus, Ohio, stepson Victor Underwood of Colorado, son-in-law Randy Bruins of Kazakhstan, and 18 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held November 23, 2024 in two parts. At 12:00 noon, there will be a gathering at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park at 8445 Winchester Rd NW, Carroll, OH 43112. Park at the last parking lot and take the Ridge Trail east (left, from the parking lot) to the Homesite Trail; then follow that trail up to the top of the ridge and the foundation of the old homesite (where Charlie and Anita lived in the late 1980s). At 2:00 pm, there will be a casual service at The Wagnalls Memorial Library at 150 E. Columbus St., Lithopolis, OH 43136. Donations for a Memorial Tree to be planted at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park can be sent to Linda Courlas, 824 Nob Hill Dr W, Gahanna, OH 43230 or Venmo @Linda-Courlas (0931).

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

Page Settings

Full Name

We use cookies to enhance browsing experience serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking 'Accept All', you consent to our use of cookies. Learn more on our <privacyLink>Privacy Page</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Enter a new password to access your account with.

Create New Password

Verification Successful!

Black Friday Offering

Honor Their Memory

- Including QR Memorial Plaques, Memorial Trees and our Keeper Plus and Concierge Memorial Plans

Now offering KeeperQR Plaques

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Enter the email address associated with your account and we'll email your password reset instructions.

Forgot Password?

GatheringUs is now part of Keeper

Scheduled Updates in Progress

New Password Setup Has Been Sent To Your Email

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Email Tribute Validation

If Flagged Content is turned OFF, content that has been flagged will remain public until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

If Flagged Content is turned ON, content that has been flagged will be hidden until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

Hide Flagged Content

Language

Email Notifications

Are you sure you want to delete the Memorial for {name}? This action will permanently remove the memorial from the system.

Delete Memorial?

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned OFF, Memorials will automatically be published.

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned ON, Memorials will only be published if and when you approve them. Memorials can be published or deleted in the Requests center.

Memorial Keepers (1)

Charlie King

Tell us about Charlie King's life

Add Mementos

Charlie King Obituary | Keeper Memorials

Memorial Keepers (1)

Charlie King

Tell us about Charlie King's life

Add Mementos