November 20, 1941 – July 24, 2025
A man born 100 years too late—but right on time for everyone who loved him.
Jerry King, age 83, passed unexpectedly on July 24, 2025, in his hometown of Erwin, Tennessee – likely still wondering why Wi-Fi was ever invented and muttering something about how Darby got too crowded back in 1980.
Born near Corpus Christi, Texas, to George and Molly (Smith) King, Jerry was the firstborn of a set of twins and never let anyone forget it. He grew up in Erwin, Tennessee, where he developed a lifelong love of the outdoors—and a stubborn streak that rivaled Tennessee ridge lines.
A lifelong patriot, Jerry served in the U.S. Air Force right out of high school before returning to Tennessee to begin his next adventure.
In June of 1961, he married Dolly Cooper, also from Erwin, and they made their home there. The couple had three children before the call of the wild proved too strong to ignore, and Jerry moved his young family west to Darby, Montana. Jerry found his calling in the small town, where he ran a pack string and guided big game hunts for Indian Lake Outfitters in the Selway Wilderness. Their fourth child was born there in 1977—and though his name was Benjamin, Jerry insisted on calling him by his middle name, Wilde. In 1980, Jerry and Dolly divorced, and shortly after, he moved even further off the map—north to Alaska.
That love of wild places eventually led him to Wiseman, a tiny village north of the Arctic Circle, which suited Jerry just fine. Summers found him fishing in Bristol Bay, and fall and winters meant hunting moose, caribou, Dall sheep, or anything else that tasted better than what the store was selling (which he didn’t visit often, anyway). He always claimed he was born 100 years too late, and that 1860 would have been perfect—mostly because that’s when the Henry Repeating Rifle came out.
He was a man of grit, heart, and humor—equal parts mountain man and mischief-maker. He had no use for pretense, plenty of use for practical jokes, and always knew how to make someone feel like they belonged—especially if they brought jerky and a can of snus.
Jerry’s passion for guns was unmatched. He could talk for hours about calibers, ballistics, and the perfect setup for whatever you were chasing—or avoiding. His stories were even bigger than his mustache (and that’s saying something). They were equal parts unbelievable and absolutely true, depending on who was listening.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, his younger twin brother Tom King, and his sister Maria De La Garza. He is survived by his sister Jeanette Santiago; his children Denise
Katzmeyer, Angela (Todd) LaQue, Craig (Michael) Platt, and Benjamin Wilde (Trisha) King; a rowdy crew of five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews, all who carry on his gift for storytelling and stirring the pot.
He is also survived by his longtime companion and kindred spirit Sylvia Bailey and her daughter Mendy (Nick) Harris, his beloved blue heeler Queenie, and—somewhat unexpectedly—far too many kittens, having morphed into “Cat Man King” in his later years.
While he likely would have had a fit at the cost of a formal service (“Confound it! Do you know how many guns you could have bought with that?!”), we want to honor and celebrate his unique life, his eccentric personality, and share some stories, have some laughs—as he so loved to do.
A memorial service will be held at Valley Funeral Home, 1085 N Main Ave, Erwin, TN on Monday, August 11, 2025 with visitation at 1 PM and memorial service at 2 PM.
For those who can’t attend—don’t worry—he won’t fault you for that. Instead, raise a glass, tell a tall tale, and step outside—he’ll be there in the wind, the ridges, and the sound of a six gun echoing in the distance.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks what Jerry would have asked: that you practice gun safety, use common sense, and if you don’t have any common sense then you shouldn’t own a gun. And during the next full moon, be sure to let out a hearty wolf howl—just like he always did.