David Lewis

King

David Lewis King of Goldston, North Carolina, passed away at home surrounded by loved ones on November 10, 2026. The cause was cancer of the brain. He was 69.

David was born on August 5, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois to Gordon Lee King and Dorothy Eunice Younts. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Reynoldsburg High School in 1975. As a child, David looked forward to visits to extended family in Indiana where he played at family farms, made mischief, and cultivated his love of the outdoors. He was close with his siblings and cousins, who remained his dear friends for life. The children were musically gifted and sang together as a quartet in local churches. David enjoyed literature and was particularly fond of the writings of Mark Twain. He was a multi-sport athlete and an avid sports fan, sharing his father’s lifelong support of the St. Louis Cardinals. David lettered in baseball for the Reynoldsburg Raiders and excelled at second baseman and shortstop. He was also a state-qualifier and captain of the Raiders wrestling team his senior year in high school.

David attended the Ohio State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Horticulture in 1981. His first job with a lawn care and landscaping company brought him and his young family to North Carolina. Eventually, David took a position with the North Carolina Department of Transportation where he proudly worked with the Wildflower Program. During this time, David lived with his children in Fuquay-Varina and was a member of Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church. David served as a Sunday school teacher and volunteered in many capacities, including ministry to those without housing in Moore Square, Raleigh. David met the love of his life, Kimberly, through the church and they were married in June of 1999. David and Kim began a life of service together, volunteering at FVUMC and the Heart of Carolina Emmaus Community.

After 24 years in horticulture, David answered a call to ministry. He enrolled in seminary at Duke Divinity School and was selected as a Student Pastor. He was appointed to Concord UMC in Eli Whitney, NC where he served for eight years. David graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Duke in 2009. In addition to Concord, David and Kim served congregations in Goldston, NC (Goldston GMC), Surf City, NC (Faith Harbor UMC), and Hurdle Mills, NC (Mt. Zion GMC). During their 20 years in ministry together, David and Kim formed abundant special relationships with church members, fellow ministers, and student interns that were assigned to David though Duke Divinity Field Education. David continued to enjoy cultivating the earth and helped plant community gardens at both Concord UMC and Goldston GMC. David retired to Goldston, NC in March of 2024.

David’s life was marked by deep gratitude, generosity, and joy. He gave thanks in all circumstances and found delight in small things. He voraciously ate every meal set before him, savored beautiful weather and the nighttime sky, taught others how to identify all of the plants and birds, reveled in a good yard project or the opportunity to build a backyard fire, and took great pleasure in good music. All of his life, he profoundly remembered the evening of February 23, 1964, on which he huddled in the living room with his siblings to watch The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. That evening, at the age of 6, David became a lifelong Beatles fan. He was an avid concert-goer in his youth and on special occasions more recently. He was known far and wide for bountifully sharing YouTube videos of concert footage from The Beatles, Billy Preston, ELO, David Bowie, and Earth, Wind, and Fire. He carried that same passion onto the pavement in his 50s, where an exquisitely curated running playlist accompanied him through multiple marathons and half marathons in Columbus, Chicago, Brooklyn, and the Outer Banks. Ordinary acts of creativity, ordinary people, ordinary days were special to him because he lived his life with a deep conviction of the Imago Dei, the understanding that each person is an image bearer of God, and that in their creative acts there is some imitation of the Creator, some expression of God’s story, something worthy of celebrating and sharing. Many who were once strangers to David found friendship with him because of his genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for getting to know others.

David’s deepest devotion was to his family. His marriage to Kim was remarkable and served as a haven and a beacon to many. They loved to travel together and spend time near the water, especially at Sunset Beach, NC and at Lakeside Chautauqua on Marblehead Peninsula, Ohio. This past year, they were able to travel together with friends and colleagues to Uganda, with their grandsons to Jupiter, Florida for Cardinals Spring Training, with their granddaughters to New York City, and to a very special family reunion at Lakeside, Ohio. Although David’s family was scattered across the country, he kept them close with frequent phone calls, long-distance visits, sibling adventure trips, and a shared love for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. David was a loving and devoted father, step-father, and grandfather. He was always in attendance at wrestling matches, football games, violin recitals, ballet performances, soccer games, school plays, and baseball games. He made sure each of his grandchildren knew how very proud he was of them, and how much joy they brought him.

David is preceded in death by his father and mother. He is survived by Kim, his wife of 27 years; his children Jessica Corpening and Greg King, their spouses Daniel and Tracey, his step-son James Sheppard, six grandchildren, Anna, Ellie Grace, Hugo, Henry, Colette, and Quentin; his step-mother, Margaret King, siblings Dennis King (Cheryl), Philip King (JoAnn), Rebecca Mitchell, Deanna Miller (Josh), Lucas King (Hannah), step-brothers Cory Rose (Sandy), David Rose (Ashley), and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Celebration of Life, Death, and Resurrection will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 11:00 am at Goldston Methodist Church, 185 Hillcrest Avenue, Goldston, NC 27252, with a Visitation from 10:00 am - 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, friends and family are invited to contribute to Global Partnerships in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the NCGMC website using the option Africa Conference Support, or to Goldston Methodist Church.