John Edward King

Attorney John E. King, 88 of Warren, Ohio died on Tuesday evening, November 6, 2012, at the Cleveland Clinic. He was born February 11, 1924 in Warren, the son of the late Earl G. and Helen Brinkerhoff King. He graduated from Warren City Schools, playing trumpet in the Warren G. Harding High School marching band. He served in the Army as a corporal during World War II, serving in the European Theatre, where he was wounded in Germany and was awarded the purple heart. After the war, John attended and graduated from Kent State University, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In college, he met his future wife, Nadine Mae Phillips from Alliance, whom he married June 25, 1947. He received his law degree in 1956 from the William McKinley School of Law in Canton. John then joined his father and great uncle in the law firm of Phelps and King, Attorneys at Law in Warren, as a third generation lawyer. He was a 56 year life member of the Trumbull County Bar Association, a life member of the Ohio Bar Association and served as an active judge in Warren Municipal court for many years. John had a special interest in Trumbull county and Civil War history, restoring his grandfather's 1800's doctor's office in Bristolville and arranging for a monument to be placed on the grave of renowed Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. He was well known for his research and presentations on the only hanging in Trumbull county, that of Ira Gardner in 1834, executed for killing his 16 year old stepdaughter, Maria Buell. John ensured that a grave monument was placed on her grave in Gustavus. He was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Warren, where he served for many years as a trustee and elder. He served as the secretary-treasurer for the Oakwood Cemetery Association, the third generation of his family to do so since 1847. John had been treasurer of the Trumbull County Historical Society and was on the Board of the Salvation Army. He and his wife, Nadine, were members of the Drum and Fiddle dance club for many years. They were known to do a fine jitterbug. He also was a golf enthusiast, golfing on the church league at Cloverleaf. He greatly enjoyed music, was a stellar joketeller and a patriot. John is survived by three daughters, Leslie G. King of Warren, Barbara (James) McCabe of Troy, Mich. and Marilyn (William) Corsetti of Alexandria, Va. and one beloved granddaughter, Mary Katherine Corsetti. His wife, Nadine Philips King preceded him in death Dec. 29, 1993. Two sisters, Jean Lehman and Patricia Henry also preceded in death. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lane Family Funeral Homes, Roberts-Clark Chapel in Warren, where the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 9, 2012. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Warren, where military honors will be accorded. Memorial contributions may be made to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195 or to the Smith Lemli Opitz (SLO)Rsh Foundation, P.O. Box 10598, Fargo, ND 58106 or through the Network for Good online.