Walter Joseph King

Walter Joseph King, PhD, age 83, passed away peacefully at his home in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 16, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family.

Walter Joseph King was born on January 10, 1943, in Leominster, Massachusetts, the son of Walter J. King and Margaret Helena (Chesbrough) King. He was raised in Shirley, Massachusetts, with his sisters, Judy and Peggy, in a modest, close-knit household. His early years instilled in him a strong work ethic, a reflective nature, and a lifelong love of learning - qualities that remained with him throughout his life. Dr King attended Georgetown University, 1961-62, and George Washington University, 1963-64, both in Washington, DC. Walter attended The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor earning a BA (1967, cum laude), MA (1969) and PhD (1977), all in History.

Dr King was a tenured professor of history and philosophy at Northern State University in South Dakota, where he taught for more than 25 years - a vocation he approached with rigor, humility, and deep care for his students. Over the course of more than a 30-year academic career, Dr King mentored generations of students, taking a genuine interest in their lives, ideas, and growth. He also taught at Upper Iowa University and the University of Northern Iowa, extending his commitment to teaching well beyond a single campus.

As a scholar, Dr King made lasting contributions to the preservation of early English history. Through painstaking archival research and careful publication - much of it conducted during extended periods of study and residence in England, Dr King helped save and make accessible critical historical records, work that endures even where the original documents have since been lost or disintegrated. He believed that history mattered not only as scholarship, but as a human responsibility, and he carried that belief into both his research and his teaching.

Walter was first married to Barbara, who preceded him in death in 2015. Together they had one daughter, Tamara (Alex) King. On July 7, 2003, in Custer State Park in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, Walter married Janet (Ludwig) King. Through their 20 years of marriage, Walter's family grew from one daughter he cherished to a lively and much-expanded household, as he became a stepfather to Lynette (Jim); Lisa (Richard); Lachelle (Matthew); Judd (Claudine); Lorelei (Todd); Jeremy (Amy); Joshua (Marie); and Jonathan (Jasmine). His grandchildren: Aric (Alena), Arielle, Matthew (Kaitlyn), Sabine, Patrick, Luke, Nevaeh, Gabriel and Ava, and his great-grandchildren: Kale, Araden, Ruben, Marley, and Elias.

Walter will be remembered for his quiet thoughtfulness, dry wit, and deep attentiveness to the world around him. He found immense joy in traveling and camping across the American West with Janet, photographing flora and fauna, historic landmarks, and striking natural formations - always with a careful eye and patient curiosity.

Though he made his home far from Massachusetts, New England never quite left him, especially when it came to a properly prepared plate of clams. His years spent in England also left a lasting imprint: a deep appreciation for a good pub, a perfectly poured pint of Guinness, and a satisfying serving of fish and chips.

Walter valued observation over noise, substance over show, and connection over convenience. He will be remembered as someone who noticed, who cared, and who took both people and ideas seriously.

Walter is survived by his wife, Janet, and his large, blended extended family who will miss him dearly.

In lieu of flowers, donations are warmly encouraged with the National Park Foundation, Preston Historical Society (Preston, Lancashire, England, UK) or the Arbor Day Foundation.

..................................................................................................................................................


The following obituary was written by Walter Joseph King himself. In keeping with his character and vocation as a historian, it reflects his wish to document his academic life, teaching career, and scholarly contributions in his own words and with his characteristic precision.

Walter Joseph King, PhD, age 83, passed away peacefully at his home in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 16, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family.

Walter Joseph King was born on January 10, 1943, in Leominster, MA, the son of Walter J. King and Margaret Helena (Chesbrough) King. He grew up in Shirley, Massachusetts, alongside his sisters, Judy and Peggy, in a close-knit family that valued hard work, learning, and quiet perseverance. Walter worked in an apple orchard to put himself through Notre Dame High School, private school in Fitchburg, MA, from which he graduated with Honors in 1961. Then and later he worked in factories in Ayer and Clinton MA and in Whitmore Lake, MI. While attending college, he held a patronage position at the US House of Representatives and was employed at the American Institute for Research, both in Washington, D.C., 1963-1964. For part of 1963, he held two full-time jobs and attended college part time. He also worked at the Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI, 1965 and 1967.

Education and Training

Dr King attended Georgetown University, 1961-62, and George Washington University, 1963-64, both in Washington, DC where he met Barbar Meyers. They married in Waterloo, Iowa on July 3, 1964, and moved to Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr King attended the University of Michigan earning a BA (1967, cum laude), MA (1969) and PhD (1977), all in History. National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College Teachers at the University of Iowa, June - August 1979, and a program at the Institute for Faculty Development, University of Hawaii and the East West Center, Honolulu on "Infusing Asian Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum," July - August 1997. He also participated in special workshops for new directors of honors programs, Memphis, TN 1984.

Academic Career

Dr. King began his teaching career at the University of Michigan as a Danforth Intern and Graduate Teaching Assistant in History (1974). At Upper Iowa University, Fayette, Iowa, he served as Instructor of History (1976-1977) and Assistant Professor of History (1977-1980), teaching both on campus and in the Coordinated Off-Campus Degree Program. He was also an Adjunct Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall of 1977.

In 1980, he began teaching at Northern State University (NSU) as an Assistant Professor of History. He became Assistant Professor of History and Philosophy (1982-1984), Associate Professor (1984-1989), and Professor from 1989 until his retirement in 2005.

During his teaching career, Dr. King taught 24 course preparations, team-taught five additional courses, and offered dozens of independent study topics. His favorite courses were Seminar in European History, 1500-1800, and Introduction to Philosophy. He most frequently taught History of Civilization, offering 159 sections between 1976 and 2005.

Research and Scholarship

Between 1971 and 2003, Dr. King conducted historical research in twenty-one archival depositories in the United Kingdom.

Dr. King's professional service included creating a hand list for the Lancashire Record Office (UK) of the manorial paper books and parchment rolls (1510-1800) of Prescot, United Kingdom, first completed in 1972 and revised in 2002. His research demonstrated the continued importance of courts leet, or local courts, into the seventeenth century, where most illegal behavior was adjudicated. This work provided a corrective to historians who focused primarily on national courts and quarter sessions.

While studying the court leet and baron of Prescot in the county of Lancashire, Dr. King also transcribed and analyzed records from over 100 other local courts held during the seventeenth century in England for comparative purposes.

He edited The Court Records of Prescot, 1640-1649, published in the United Kingdom in 2008. He also published thirteen scholarly articles and twenty book reviews in eleven journals in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In 1978, Dr. King wrote instructional manuals for external-degree students in Western Civilization and Modern European History, revised in 1979 and 1980. His shorter pieces on student study habits appeared in NSU's Exponent between 1982 and 1985.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Dr. King delivered three professional papers in the United Kingdom: at the annual opening of the Prescot Court Leet (1994); at the University of Liverpool (1989); and to the Prescot Historical Society (1987). He also delivered twenty-eight additional papers in the United States, including presentations to the American Historical Association, the American Society for Legal History, the Western Conference on British Studies, South Dakota Public Television, and numerous academic and professional organizations between 1975 and 2010.

Professional Service and Honors

Dr. King served on over sixty departmental, school, and university committees, including Director of the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships Program for graduate study in the United Kingdom (1992-2004), first Director of the Honors Program (1984-1986), and Director of the Annual Forum on the Holocaust (1982-1984). He held memberships in eight professional associations devoted to history and philosophy in the United States and the United Kingdom.

His honors included appointment as Professor Emeritus of History by the South Dakota Board of Regents (2005), the Nora Staael Evert Research Stipend (2003), multiple NSU Sabbatical Leaves, Distinguished Regental Professor (1990), and numerous awards for teaching, research, and service. Over the course of his career, he received several grants and stipends for historical research in the United Kingdom, including support from the American Philosophical Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities (1987).

Personal Life and Interests

Dr. King visited the United Kingdom eleven times between 1971 and 2012. He loved to travel and visited Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, and Canada. Of the fifty U.S. states, he visited forty-six.

He possessed a passion for photography, tent camping, and hiking in the American West, especially Canyonlands National Park in Utah, which he visited twelve times. At heart, however, he was a homebody. He greatly enjoyed playing Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny for his daughter and building her toys. Later in life, he treasured time spent with his granddaughter Ava and engaging in thoughtful conversations with his grandson Gabriel.

This document is preserved and shared in accordance with Walter Joseph King's expressed wishes and with deep respect for his life's work.