Rev. Dr. Sterling King, Jr. Funeral

When:
March 12, 2022 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
2022-03-12T11:00:00-05:00
2022-03-12T13:00:00-05:00
Where:
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
608 N. Horners Lane Rockville
MD 20850
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Snowden Funeral Services


Rev. Dr. Sterling King, Jr.
October 31, 1940 ~ February 23, 2022 (age 81)
Services on Saturday, March 12, 2022, 11:00am will be live streaming: Click on https://vimeo.com/683908984/210b848601

IMPORTANT PROTOCOLS for attending service

Enter the church from the parking lot entrance. Masks are required. Each adult will be required to affirm they have not had any COVID related symptoms or been in contact with anyone with COVID in the last 2 weeks. All are welcome to the walk-through viewing. However, seating is reserved/prioritized for family in the sanctuary for the 11:00 AM life and legacy celebration.

The King family wants to express its gratitude for all prayers, thoughts, and expressions of love during this season of life’s journey. In lieu of flowers, please consider sending your monetary love and/or support to Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. Please specify on your check in the “memo” portion as “Building Fund-King” to honor your wishes at the church. Thank you for your consideration.

Obituary
Reverend Dr. Sterling King, Jr. was born the sixth of eleven children to the union of the late Reverend Sterling King, Sr. and Mrs. Jessie Louise Hill King. He was raised within bonds of love on a farm in Lee County Arkansas. He professed a hope in Christ at an early age, was baptized and united with the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Aubrey, Arkansas. He entered eternal life on February 23, 2022 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.
He completed his elementary school and junior high school in Aubrey, Arkansas. In 1958 he graduated from Robert R. Moton High School in Marianna, Arkansas. He volunteered for the Peace Corps in 1962, learned to become fluent in TAGALOG and served for two years in a barrio on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. After his service in the Peace Corps, he returned to his Southern roots and became an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. He worked for justice for African Americans within multiple Southern states. He also played a supportive role with the leadership in establishing the Lee County Cooperative Clinic in Marianna, Arkansas and it remains open until this day. He remained committed to the cause of justice.
In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) from which he received his Master’s and Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in health services administration and a minor in Socio-technical Systems from the UCLA Graduate School of Management. In 1972, he married the former Rosalyn Marie Cain, a schoolmate.
Upon his graduation from UCLA in 1976, he was recruited to the faculty of the Howard University School of Business to serve as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration. In due course, he led the department to full accreditation by the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration which resulted in Type A membership in the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. It was the first such accreditation for an HBCU.
He and his family joined the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland upon relocation. There, he was elected to the Board of Deacons in 1977, ordained in 1978 and served as its chair until he answered the call to the gospel ministry. He preached his trial sermon in 1982. Subsequently, Reverend King attended the Howard University School of Divinity. After 34 years of service, he retired from Howard in 2010 as a tenured Associate Professor in the School of Business and chairman of the Department of Management.
In 1984 under the unction of the Holy Spirit, Reverend King volunteered to teach Bible study at Macedonia Baptist Church and serve as needed. In 1986 he was called to be the Assistant Pastor and in 1988 was called to serve as pastor. Reverend King served as Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Bethesda, Maryland for twenty-eight years. He retired from pastoral ministry in 2016 and thereafter, served as Pastor Emeritus.
Rev. King is a past president of the Black Ministers’ Conference of Montgomery County, Maryland, former member of the Board of Directors of Community Ministry of Montgomery County (now Interfaith Works) and past chair of the Board of Directors of Montgomery Hospice (now Montgomery /Prince Georges Hospice). He is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Omega Psi Phi, Pi Sigma Chapter, Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas welcomed him into membership in 1960. In 2021 he received the African American Living Legends Award from Montgomery County for his “leadership in helping shape the cultural heritage of the African American community”.
On a personal note, Rev. King enjoyed gardening and tending flowers. He is known for his stubbornness and refusal to say “No” to anyone who asks or needs assistance, advice or a listening ear.
In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a daughter, Kristin Ethel King; siblings: Cozetta Ruth, Arthur Vernel, Ernie Beatrice, Mildred, and Willie Haze.
Rev. King is survived by his wife of fifty (50) years, Dr. Rosalyn C. King; his son Rev. Aaron C. King (Tina); grandchildren, Sterling R. King and Aaryn C. King; his siblings: Melvia L Barrett of Houston, Texas; Dr. Mae C. King of Silver Spring, Maryland; Emmer K. Shelton (Bernard) of Chicago, Illinois; Mary D. Gorham (Michael) of Denver, Colorado, and Calvin R. King, Sr. (Sarah) of Aubrey, Arkansas; a multitude of nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of professional and clergy colleagues.