Carl Hayes King Jr.

Carl Hayes King Jr., a kind, faithful, funny, smart, man who graced this world for 97 years, died peacefully on May 4. Born on Dec. 30, 1928, in Milwaukee Wisc., to Carl and Marie King, he was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church and became a Scout as soon thereafter as he could – in 1941. Through the years, he received many honors from the Scouts.

Carl graduated from Marquette University in 1951 with a degree in mechanical engineering, married his childhood sweetheart Carol Hecker the next year, and promptly took her off to Texas, where he worked in the aerospace defense industry for the next 42 years while Carol taught school. They had three children – sons Tim and Paul and daughter Kathleen – and two grandchildren, Haley and Michael Hunter.

After Carl and Carol both retired in 1994, they traveled, kept playing bridge, and became Eucharistic ministers at St. Andrew Catholic Church. Carol joined Club Bon Soir, part of the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth. Carl, a member of long standing in the Knights of Columbus Council 4101, wrote a book about local Scouting – “Our Longhorn Council: The First 75 Years” – and continued his longtime hobbies of coin collecting and genealogy research.

When Carol died in 2016, Carl stayed on at the Fort Worth home they’d shared for almost 60 years. He reluctantly moved to an assisted living facility in Mansfield only a few weeks before his death. Staffers there said he had already learned his caregivers’ names; he’d written them down in one of the notebooks that were his constant companion. He loved puzzles of many kinds, coconut pie, baseball, and puns. And Spike Jones’ music. He will be sorely missed.

Besides Carol, Carl was preceded in death by his parents and both of his sons. He is survived by daughter Kathleen Susan Hunter and husband Steve; grandchildren Haley and Michael Hunter; daughter-in-law Gayle Reaves-King; nieces, nephews, cousins, and many dear friends.

Rosary: 10:00 a.m. Friday, May 15, 2026 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 6150 Pershing Avenue, Fort Worth with visitation following until 11:00 a.m.

Mass of Christian Burial: 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 15, 2026 at Holy Family Catholic Church with a reception luncheon at 2 p.m. at the church’s Family Life Center. 

Entombment: Greenwood Mausoleum.