In Remembrance of Dr. Jim King
Editor's Note: Dr. Jim King is fondly remembered by thousands of Volunteers who served in the early years of Peace Corps Colombia. Along with his wife, Mary and their children, they were an inseparable part of the Peace Corps family. Many volunteers who had met with an untimely accident or some other medical emergency, found themselves at their home in Bogota, where recuperation was mainly accomplished through Mary's home cooking and the warm, encompassing family environment they provided. Outside of being a highly skilled medical professional who imparted confidence to Volunteers on first meetings, Jim also played a secular role, taking the time to see to it that they had a home away from home. When he and Mary instinctively knew Volunteers were at their tipping pointsyou know, that time when we said to ourselves just what is it that I am doing here, anyway, there was nothing like being sat down at their dinner table and being part of a family. That would ease the tensions and make going back to the yucca and rice routine seem like a well earned badge of courage.
Dr. King passed away at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on September 1. He was born in Newcastle, England. After his graduation in Medicine from Durham University, he immigrated to America where he married Mary Ellis Heilbron. Following his service in the U. S. Army, Jim was a surgeon in private practice in Red Bluff, California, and then took a position as Chief of Surgery at Guam Memorial Hospital. He served as the first Peace Corps physician for Colombia, Venezuela and Jamaica following President Kennedys call to service. He earned a Masters in International Public Health from Johns Hopkins in 1968 and then served as an Associate Regional Health Director, Chicago Regional Office, U. S. Public Health Service. From 1968-70, he served as a consultant to the Ministry of Health, Guatemala, as a Public Health Advisor on loan to USAID. In the 1970s, Jim was Deputy Director, Office of International Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Jim established the Office of Refugee Health Affairs prior to retirement in 1981. In retirement, he enjoyed success in Amway, and later as a Medical Review Officer for K&A Medical Review Services.