James King

James Eddie King plowed his last field on December 10th, 2020. He was born to farmers, Jesse and Pearlie King in Macon County, TN on December 3rd, 1927.

The family left the hills during the Great Depression and headed to the land of opportunity. They settled in Wattensaw, a little community in Lonoke County, Arkansas where he carried on the family tradition of working the land.

He was brought up during hard times and he was a hard man most of his days. While he became a man with a deep faith in Christ he always struggled to accept the forgiveness of past wrongs that comes with knowing your Creator. Carrying a burden like that can make a man quite the mix of sweet and salty.

"Eddie" as he was known spent his life farming the family land, tinkering on old cars and equipment and was always looking for a good deal. He never missed an opportunity to "pick and grin" with local musicians and knew how to make a dobro sing its own song. The familiar melodies of Orange Blossom Special and I'll Fly Away were often heard pouring out across the farm.

He was a quick-witted man with a great sense of humor and loved to tell a good story. You would often find him and at least one of his brothers or sisters gathered around a kitchen table telling tall tales over a cup of coffee.

Eddie loved his family deeply even though he didn't quite know how to show it. He was quick to tell anyone that would listen about how beautiful his daughters Diane and Dixie were and how his son, Alan could build or fix anything.

He has been reunited with his parents Jesse and Pearlie as well as his brothers Jay, Joe, and Tommy King. Looking forward to seeing him again is his first love Mary King, his daughters Diane Coffman (Dempsie), Dixie Gentry (Mike), his son, Alan King (Nina), two sisters, Dixie Wynne and Mary Gruenke (Dave), nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

Eddie is now experiencing the extravagant love of Jesus that he couldn't quite grasp here on earth and leaves behind a legacy of hard work, humor, and great story-telling that lives on through his family.

A graveside service will be held at New Hope Cemetery in Lonoke, Arkansas on December 14th at 2:00PM with Brother Fred Dollar officiating.