Jo Ruth King

Jo Ruth King
December 5, 1921 - May 1, 2023

Jo Ruth King, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, an artist and homemaker, died May 1, 2023, in Dallas, Texas, where during the last two years she had resided in an
assisted living home. Mrs. King, formerly active in the Methodist church and the community, raised three sons with her husband, the late Mac Donald King. Last December, she celebrated her 101st birthday.

A graveside service at Elmwood Memorial Park will be Friday, May 5th at 12-noon.

Mrs. King was born Jo Ruth Encke on December 5, 1921 to Jesse Irvin Encke and Zadie Lee Edwards Encke of Strawn, Texas. Growing up in West Texas, she studied music (piano and clarinet) and trained for tennis. After graduating from Strawn High School, she attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, where she joined the Cowboy Marching Band and met Mac King, the love of her life, who she married after graduation.

During World War II, Mrs. King and her cousin Mildred Edwards Beard worked together as bank tellers in Fort Worth, while her husband, a commissioned Naval officer, served in the Pacific. On Lieutenant King's return from military service, the couple settled in Strawn, Texas, where they began the family that would eventually produce three sons.

The young family moved numerous times to diverse locations across the country to follow Mr. King's work before settling in 1980 in Oklahoma City. In the 21st century, Mrs.
King returned to Texas to live close to her grandsons.

Mrs. King is survived by her three sons, Donnally, Encke, and Joe King, daughter-in-law Patti King, grandsons Jake King and Mac King and granddaughters-in-law Holly Keating and Lindsay King. Her beloved sister Margaret Hamilton as well as her husband of fifty years proceeded her in death.