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Gary King
GARY DEAN KING
Cedar Rapids
Gary Dean King, 72, died Tuesday, June 21, 2016, of complications from a heart attack. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 30, at Logan Park Cemetery in Sioux City.
He was born in 1943 in Sioux City, Iowa,
to Bert and Mamie King. Gary attended Morningside College and graduated from
the University of South Dakota in 1965. He married Judy Isackson in 1965. The couple taught in the Mar-Mac School District in McGregor for three years before moving to Cedar Rapids, where he continued teaching until his retirement in 2000. One highlight as a high school band director was marching in the Cotton Bowl Parade. He was a member of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, the Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors Association. He was also a Realtor.
During most of his life he was an accomplished performer on saxophone and clarinet in a wide variety of popular music settings. His sound was classic blues and R&B. He was under contract to Mercury Records in the mid-1960s. He was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame (1995) as a musician, the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three different times (2002, 2007 and 2007), receiving its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. In addition to several Rock & Roll bands in Iowa and Nebraska, he also worked with John (J.R.) Robinson, Michael Boddicker, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Barnum & Bailey Circus touring group, KHAK's Airwave, Lyle Beaver, Dale Thomas, Al Pearson (Guy Lombardo) and Bob Dorr & The Blue Band, Billie Lee & Bryce Janey and Jim Hyatt Band (Colorado) among others. He recorded a sound track for a scene in the movie "Time Changer."
His happiest time was after their retirement when he and Judy moved to Firestone, Colo. He loved spending time with his grandkids.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bert and Mamie; brother, Bert Jr.; sister, Louretta Brooks; and brother-in-law, Robert Brooks.
He is survived by his wife, Judy; son, Bradley Berton (wife Billie Sue); and two grandchildren, Abbey and Austin.
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