The passing of an Okotoks legend is still on the minds of many Okotokians.
Long-time Okotoks resident, former town councillor and pharmacist Al King passed away April 24th, 2021.
He was a dedicated husband to his late wife Jeanette and a father to their three boys. To most, he was Mr. King but residents might know him as "Mr. Okotoks."
Mr. King had a passion for the community. This showed during his time both as a town councillor (1967-1974) and as a pharmacist (1958 - 2005). The first annual parade called Okotoks Sports Day Parade was started by King in 1969, and he started the first Band Parents Association in the mid to late 1970s. Even served as a ‘community member’ of the Post-secondary Education Board appointed by Okotoks Town Council in November of 2012. That term extended until October 2015.
He was the recipient of numerous awards for the time and commitment he gave to Okotoks, including the Okotoks Rotary Club’s Integrity Award in 2006 and the 2011 Hometown Heroes Award. He also served as a ‘community member’ of the Post-secondary Education Board and the Sheep River Health Trust Board.
Andrea Mitchell, Executive Director of Sheep River Health Trust recalls the role he had with the trust.
"He sat on our board I would say, 15 or 16 years at least. He was instrumental in the Sheep River Health Trust in our direction and our funding. He did retire from our board in 2016, but he didn't really leave. Mr. King, as anyone knows, was always so involved."
Mitchell adds "You gave him a thought or an idea, 'hey, what do you think about this?' And he'd run off and get it accomplished ... Mr. King always went above where you asked him to go"
She says once he learned your name, he knew it forever.
"He had the pharmacy and knew everything about you. He could name everyone's name and welcomed you on the street everywhere you went, so I think that's why everyone calls him Mr. Okotoks, 'cause he just had such a huge influence in our community."
King’s Pharmacy was owned and operated by Mr. King for 46 years from March 1958 until early 2005. He started working for pharmacist Hugh Berry in 1957, then bought it a year later with his retirement party being held in April 2005.
While visiting her mother in hospital Mitchell had learned Mr. King was also there. She made sure she would check in with him because she knew that's what he would have done.
"He never ceased to reach out and see how you were. When I was taking care of my mom. I remember going down to see his room, he was on a different floor than her and he would say ’You are doing the best you can.’ I was struggling a lot with living in High River and driving to the city every day and having young kids and my mom is really sick and all you know all those pressures of being taking care of someone in those situations. He always said to me ‘you're doing the best you can. Just keep moving. You know this is the best you can do and just remember tomorrow is another day.’ And that was just Mr. King."
Bill Robertson, Mayor of Okotoks recalls his years on the town council and considers him to be a "Father of the Community" but he will truly remember him for his community work.
"In recent years he's certainly been quite a volunteer in raising money for various charitable organizations, and he will be missed. He's just been an awesome individual and the town of Okotoks has benefited greatly."
Mr. King also spearheaded a drive to provide dictionaries to local schools through Okotoks Rotary Club. The program was started in 2010 and by the 2016-17 school year they had distributed 6,000 books locally to students to use.
He had an incredibly positive outlook and you could always reach out to Mr. King and he would get it done.
Allen is survived by his three sons. Thomas Norman, William Allen and Colin York and his sister Kathyrne (Ian) Borwick as well as numerous extended family members.
Those looking to share a memory can post on the Tribute Wall set up in his name.
Fri, Apr 26, 7:00 PM
Agriculture, Manufacturing, Skilled Trades, Labour, Full-time
