James King

James Daniel King, known best as “Dan”, passed away peacefully October 4th, 2018, at the age of 80 years. Born March 26, 1938 in Bloomington, Illinois, Dan was the only child of Alberta Mae Carter née Carnine and Glenn Carter. He grew up in Illinois and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, during his high school years with his mother and stepfather, eventually graduating from the Christian Brothers High School of Memphis. From a young age Dan loved learning how things worked, taking apart and rebuilding toys and eventually motorcycles and cars. His first car was a Ford Model T purchased from a farmer’s field that he rebuilt, and until late in life Dan was still building Volkswagen engines from scratch. Dan attended the University of Illinois and earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering while married to his first wife Vivian and raising four children. He worked briefly at Proctor and Gamble and then at Frasca Aviation as a production manager of a small mechanical flight simulator plant. After divorcing, Dan married his second wife Cheryl and in 1980 was hired by the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he worked for the next 25 years while they raised two more children, along with Cheryl’s adopted daughter. Dan worked in various divisions, initially on the particle accelerator, then on nuclear weapons testing in the Nevada desert, and finally in computer-assisted drafting and information technology. He was an early adopter of computers, and enjoyed programming and video games. Dan loved the scenic beauty of New Mexico and often took the family on outings for firewood, motorcycle riding, skiing and camping. He enjoyed having a pilots license and sharing part ownership in a small plane for a while. Dan owned, maintained, and rode motorcycles, and won trophies in local trials competitions. Dan also coached recreational youth soccer. Dan is survived by his first wife Vivian of 15 years, his second wife Cheryl of 45 years, his children Ruth, Dan, Mitchell, Jennifer, Bradley and Dana, as well as his grandchildren Erin, Dustin, and Izabella. He is predeceased by his daughter Ellen.