Former Senate president King remembered
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – State Sen. Jim King was mourned Saturday as a big-hearted politician whose smile could light up a room.
About 850 people flocked to St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral for a 90-minute memorial service honoring King, the 69-year-old former Senate president who died of pancreatic cancer last Sunday.
Among those attending were Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell and legislative colleagues from both sides of the aisle.
Gov. Charlie Crist was in Colorado, holding a fundraiser for his U.S. Senate bid, and did not attend.
“Jim King was the lion of the Senate, and his roar echoes still,” said Gus Corbella, King’s chief of staff when he was Senate president in 2003 and 2004. “His personality was infectious. Jim King was a force that altered so many lives for the better.”