TOPPING—Stuart King lost his battle with cancer on October 25, 2018, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
He was born on July 28, 1947, in Cambridge, Mass., the son of Mary Anne Henderson and professor Donald DeWolf King. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Carole Hamner, who will continue to work as the environmental manager at the West Point Mill.
Stuart graduated with a bachelor of arts with highest honors from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1969. He taught Shakespeare, the Romantic Poets and Fiction Writing at UVA while earning his master’s, and stayed on after graduation, achieving faculty rank in 1973. He also taught English to sophomores and seniors at the Tandem School in Charlottesville.
As one of his professors at UVA stated, “Stuart was able to convey complex ideas and arguments in clear, articulate and often witty terms. He has a remarkable talent for thinking on his feet.”
Stuart kept these talents active into his retirement, providing insight and humor to everyone he met.
Stuart retired to Topping, where he enjoyed boating in his mahogany Riva runabout on the Rappahannock and surrounding rivers.
A memorial service will be scheduled this spring, Stuart’s favorite season.