Dr. DeLutha King, Jr.
January 17, 1924 – April 3, 2020
DeLutha Porter Harold King, Jr. was born January 17, 1924 in Weir City, Kansas. His father, DeLutha King, Sr., was a graduate of Lincoln University and minister in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; and his mother, Julia Banks King, was a restaurant owner. The family moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he and his sister Veatrice grew up.
Dr. King’s career and accomplishments span over fifty years. Dr. King attended the University of Kansas until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1942. From 1943 to 1945, he served in Europe in the all-Black 43rd Signal Battalion as the company’s German interpreter.
Dr. King obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology and English and a Teaching Certificate from Case Western Reserve University in 1952. He completed his MD Degree in 1956; his internship in 1957 and his residency in surgical urology in 1961 at the Howard University College of Medicine and Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1956 King established the Student American Medical Association (SAMA), a chapter of the national American Medical Association (AMA) at Howard University College of Medicine. He was the first person of color to be elected to the national office of SAMA Councilors. King was also the second recipient of the Daniel Hale Williams Award from the Association of Former interns and residents of the Freedmen’s Hospital.
Dr. King began his medical career as one of two urologists and was the only urologist of color in the state of Alabama at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Tuskegee. He was Chief of Urology Services at the Veteran’s Administration from 1961 to 1965 and a Urology Consultant at John A. Andrew VA Hospital from 1966 to 1972. Dr. King moved to Atlanta and opened his urology practice from 1966 to 1970. In 1968, he moved his offices to 2600 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, a multi-specialty building that he and eight other African-American investors built.
In 1971, Dr. King co-founded the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia along with Dr. Nelson McGhee – dedicated to the education, screening and counseling for Sickle Cell Anemia; the Atlanta Health Care Foundation in 1973; Metro Atlanta Health Plan Inc, the forerunner of the establishment of the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in 1980; Health First, the HMO in 1985 and the Health First Foundation which contributes grants to non-profit health-oriented organizations in Georgia in 1986. Dr. King was certified and licensed to practice medicine and urology in Alabama, California, Maryland and Georgia. He was on the Board of /trustees and a member of the Medical Advisory Board at Morehouse School of Medicine where he held Faculty positions from 1980 to 1986.
In 2001, King received the Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from Morehouse College. In 2006, he received an award for fifty years of practicing medicine. Dr. King was an active member of the American Urological Association, AMA, NMA, Georgia State Medical Association and Southwest Atlanta Urology Associates, Inc, an organization that he founded in 1970. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity of which he was the oldest member in the state of Georgia as well as the NAACP.
HistoryMakers did a wonderful mini-biography and story of Dr. King and his impact on the community. It is at: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dr-delutha-king-41.
Reference / Resource: “Dr. Delutha King’s Biography.” The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dr-delutha-king-41.
For many years, Dr. King enjoyed his retirement life until he departed this earthly world on April 3, 2020 to join his ancestors
He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Lois Weaver King, son Ronald Loving (Freda), granddaughter Kristie Loving Taylor (Mike) great-granddaughter Kennedi Taylor, devoted family friend Sally Warner and a host of extended family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Dr. DeLutha King can be sent to:
Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia
2391 Benjamin E. Mays Drive SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30331-3233
Murray Brothers Funeral Home Cascade / Utoy Springs of Atlanta, Georgia will handle the final arrangements.
There will be a viewing on Thursday, April 9th, 2020 from 1 pm to 6 pm at the funeral home.
There will be a private graveside service for the family at Westview Cemetery (Atlanta, Georgia).
After we all survive thru the current situation of the pandemic, the family plans to have a memorial service to celebrate his life and all his accomplishments and achievements.
Last updated on April 8, 2020
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