Jim King Memorial Fund

We recently learned that Jim King passed away. Jim was always at his best on stage, in front of a camera, writing, performing, creating. He grew up in Ellensburg, WA where he asserted his creativity early on. He was known at Morgan Middle School as the kid with spiky hair running around in ties and wrestling shoes. At Ellensburg High School he solidified deep friendships with Shawn Parke, Pat Conner and Lee McCullough. They spent hours making music and films like “3rd Street Gang” and “Bald Eagle.” He was in so many bands and musical projects it would be hard to name them all, including Bliarg, Corn Dump, Kitty Kitty, Her Fault, Marvel Mystery, Kittitas…He eventually got together with Lee, Van Conner and Sean Hollister to create Solomon Grundy, record an album and hit the road on tour. Those were some of the best times!

Jim continued learning, writing and creating throughout his life, though his options were deeply curtailed by his struggles with mental illness and the limited resources available to keep him safe and healthy. He lived for many years on the streets of Seattle and that is where he eventually died. Through those years his sister Jody found ways to stay in touch with him as he was able to access email sporadically at the Public Library and for a time he could call her from pay phones. His friends in Seattle always looked out for him.

He is remembered for his sense of humor, loyal friendship, boundless energy and unexpected gentleness. Jim’s sister Jody is his closest remaining relative and she is determined to bring Jim home, honor him and spread his remains in the places that meant the most to him. Please join us in contributing what you can to cover the costs she must incur. And if you are so moved, we also want to encourage you to make a gift in his honor to the Seattle chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://namiseattle.org/give/donate-now/) because we must do more to support all in our communities who struggle on the streets.