Harry Joe King

Harry Joe King, 86, of Bluffton, SC died at home on Sunday, December 23, 2018. He was born, the son of Rama Hughes King and Ida Belle Cole King of Lancaster, SC, both deceased. He graduated from Central elementary school in Lancaster, and the Georgia Military Academy in College Park, GA in 1949. He attended Wake Forest College before joining the U.S. Navy in 1951 after the Korean War began. Upon being honorably discharged he joined the active Marine Corps reserve and was honorably discharged in 1957.

King returned to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration in 1958. He later received postgraduate certificates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, College of Charleston, and Charleston Southern University during his working career.

King was Executive Vice President of the Northwestern Bank, Director and Vice President of merges and acquisitions at the Bank of North Carolina and Executive Vice President of the Coconut Grove Bank in Miami, FL. He opened and organized the Sunshine State Bank in Miami, and Biscayne Bank in downtown Miami. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of both of these two de novo banks. During his banking career, King was responsible for the opening and merging of 94 banks in the Southeast.

When his widowed mother was hospitalized, he and his wife returned to Charleston, SC, where he, as Chairman and President, incorporated Home Health Services Inc., the first private home health agency in South Carolina. He later organized and chartered the states Association of home health agencies, of which he served as President for the first three years.

King and his wife purchased the former Albemarle School in Charleston, and as Chairman and President, converted it into Healthcare Park West which included adult assisted-living facilities and respite care. When this health care conglomerate was sold, he became the President of Healthcare Consultants Inc., until he retired.

King was appointed to the Western North Carolina Regional Planning Commission by the Governor, served as Chairman of the Board of the Granite Workers Association, President of the Towers of Key Biscayne Homeowners Association, President of the Key Biscayne Blvd. Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Beaufort YMCA, Chairman of the Board of the Bluffton Family YMCA. He was voted outstanding Kiwanian of the year, and he also was a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

King was also a charter member, all along with his wife of the University of South Carolina, Horseshoe Society (Rutledge), the University of South Carolina’s Legacy Society, and served on the Executive Committee of the University Of South Carolina College Of Nursing.  

King is survived by his wife, Judith Anne Wilson King, two sisters, Bette Catherine Waters of Greenville, and Peggy Ann Graham of Spartanburg and 30 plus nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by two sisters, Virginia Belle Funderburk and Patricia Jean King and two brothers, Robert Hughes King and William Thad King.

The family will be receiving friends from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Road, Bluffton, SC 29910. Military honors will be rendered by the United States Navy.

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