Barbara King died peacefully on April 16, 2025, with her loving family and friends by her side throughout her final days. Born on May 17, 1945 to Theresia (Hum) & Herman Wend in Brooklyn, NY, Barb joined her two big brothers, Herman Jr. and Carl, as a cherished part of a vibrant first-generation immigrant family. Her parents opened a neighborhood grocery store, affectionately known in family lore as “pop’s shop,” whose success enabled them to help Theresia’s three younger sisters arriving from Romania and build community by supporting other recent immigrants. After losing both parents at an early age, Barb and her brothers were welcomed into the family of their aunt Katie and Fabian Schmidt in Yonkers, NY, where they gained two more loving brothers, Frank and John.

From these beginnings, Barb grew into a woman of strength and courage, even if she may not always have recognized herself as such. At 18, curious about her roots, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean to visit her ancestral home in Engelsbrunn, Romania. In 1967, she graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in History. While there, what began as a blind date turned to love and then marriage with Rick King. The new couple started a family and welcomed their eldest son Matthew into the world. Soon afterwards the newlyweds moved to Seattle, WA and had their second son, John. With Rick stationed in Vietnam with the Coast Guard, Barb used her strength and fortitude to create a home and rear two rambunctious toddlers. Upon his return, they moved to Ravenna, joined Assumption Parish, and completed their family with their third son, Damien.

In 1978 adventure called again and the Kings fulfilled a lifelong dream of Rick’s by packing up and crossing another ocean, this time westward  to Sydney, Australia. While Rick worked as a research scientist, Barb worked to rear three rambunctious boys. Together, they built community anew as statewide leaders in Marriage Encounter and forged a deep and enduring friendship with Graham and Imelda Gilmore. 

Returning to Seattle in 1983, Barb devoted herself to her family, her church, her job and her community: cooking for the Lazarus and Matt Talbot Centers, facilitating prayer circles, and selflessly donating a kidney to a fellow parishioner. Featuring prominently in this chapter of her life was the Group whose rich friendship was laced with spirituality, laughter and adventure. The group prayed together, volunteered together, traveled together, and even built a “cabin” in Mazama by hand where they spent two decades sharing long weekends together.

Barb was preceded in death by her husband Rick and her brothers Herman Jr., Carl and Frank. She is survived, missed terribly, and celebrated by her sons and their wives: Matt and Tricia King, John King and Amy Schacht, and Damien and Jennifer King; her grandchildren who she was constantly amazed by and impressed with: Riley, Sylvia, Olivia, Lily, Beatrice, Sara and Fiona; her brother John; nieces and nephews Trixie, Herman III, Carl Jr., Kurt, Kris, Frank, Russell, Michael, Tom, Bob, Theresa, Frank, Emily and Miranda; as well as a wealth of friends and extended family.

Kind, gentle, and sometimes feisty, Barb was quiet until she wasn’t. She was serious until it was time to be lighthearted. She was calm until it mattered, then she’d speak up passionately and give voice to her thoughts buoyed by wisdom born from a lifetime of resilience, compassion and adventure. That little house in Yonkers sure produced a strong woman.

Services will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, May 17 at Assumption Church in Seattle.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Matt Talbot Center.