William King

Dr. William Burns King DDS of Bradenton, FL passed away with family by his side on Easter Sunday, April 9th, 2023, at age 86.

Bill attended Ballard Elementary School, and Bradenton Junior High. He then graduated from Manatee County High School in 1955 where he was involved in the Latin Society, Key club, "M" club, Baseball, Junior Rotarian, Student Council, and the Domestic Exchange to Rhode Island. Later, he continued to be involved with his MHS Alumni class, and the MHS Alumni Association Board.

He grew up in & was an active member of the 1st United Methodist Church of Bradenton for his entire life. He loved & supported his church through service in various leadership roles, fundraising & personal financial contributions.

Bill reached the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America & was a camp staff counselor at Camp Flying Eagle. He was a member of the scouting Order of the Arrow Honor Society. He continued to serve the Boy Scouts as a troop leader for Troop 1 at 1st United Methodist Church and served for much of his life on the Board of Sunnyland Council BSA & on the Executive & Advisory Boards of the Southwest Florida Council, BSA.

Dr. King first graduated from Georgia Tech in Industrial Management, then Emory University School of Dentistry. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Luther B King, with a long & successful dental practice serving many of Manatee County's leading citizens for over 50 years. He truly loved taking care of his patients' needs & enjoyed the interaction with them as friends. He was active in the Manatee County Dental Society and the West Coast Dental Society. He retired somewhat begrudgingly in 2015 at the age of 78.

In addition to taking care of their teeth, Dr. King followed many of his patients into service for The City of Bradenton & Manatee County. He was a Trustee of the South Florida Museum Endowment Board & served various predecessor roles from the beginning of the Bishop Planetarium & SF Museum development. He was a great friend of Mrs. E.E. Bishop, her daughter Miss Mary Parker & along with many other prominent citizens helped them with their tremendous philanthropic contributions to Manatee County. He was the long-time liaison between Miss Parker, her foundation, and the Bishop Animal Shelter / SPCA, a now $18 million dollar state of the art facility that was recently donated to Manatee County.

Besides his family, church & work, Bill's lifelong love was sailing & boating. He started racing sailboats at age 10 in the Manatee River Pram Fleet. He raced small sailboats all over the west coast of Florida with his future wife Barbara while they were in high school. With his family, he continued racing a variety of sailboats while traveling to destinations all over the U.S. and Canada to compete in some of the most important regattas in competitive yachting.

Bill shared his love of sailing both with his family & many other young sailors for decades through his support by physically running and then serving on the Board of Directors of the Manatee River Pram Fleet which evolved into a full Youth Sailing Program. He was instrumental in getting the new Bishop Sailing Center financially supported and built at its new location at the Bradenton Yacht Club, thereby securing its future for many years to come. He served as Commodore, Fleet Captain Sail & many other offices & committees of The Bradenton Yacht Club where he loved to compete & socialize with friends for over 60 years.

During his many years of working in downtown Bradenton, one of his greatest pleasures was his lunch time spent at Council's Pool Hall, sharing Lawton Smith's incredible hamburgers with many of the true leaders of Bradenton. He was also a long-time member of the Bradenton Rotary Club serving as President, and many other offices and committees. He served for decades on the Fogartyville Cemetery Board and later in life was a member of the Manatee Village Historical Society.

In his later years, he added vintage sports car racing to his adventures & enjoyed traveling with his son Tom to compete at Sebring, Daytona, Road America in Wisconsin, & many other racetracks.

William was predeceased by his father Dr. Luther B King, and mother Eula B. King, and his beloved high school sweetheart wife of 65 years Barbara T. King. He is survived by his 3 children: Tom (Sharon) of Anna Maria, David (Julie) of Bradenton, & Carol Hughes of Jacksonville, FL; seven grandchildren: Andrew, Noah, Tyler, and Allison King; Landon, Kaelyn, and Rebekah Hughes, and 3 great-grandchildren Roman, Piper, and Theodore King as well as many nieces, nephews and dear supportive friends.

Services will be held Tuesday April 18th at 2:00 at First United Methodist Church located at 603 11th St. W. Bradenton, with a reception following the service.

Dr. King followed his father in his lifelong support of the Salvation Army through his volunteer work & financial donations.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: First United Methodist Church at 603 11th St. W. Bradenton, FL 34205

Or The Salvation Army mailed to Angel Tree 1204 14th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34205 or click Make a donation.