Willie James King

Cincinnati will remember Willie James King, affectionally known as "Jim King", as a strong believer in community, self-help, collaboration and long-standing partnerships. While Jim contributed mightily to the civic landscape and built environment of Cincinnati, he was not a native son of this city.

He was born down South in Evergreen, Alabama on August 26, 1945 to Vergie Smith and John David King. He was especially close to his maternal grandmother, Willie Mae Smith, and his aunt Miss Elizabeth Burnett, who later became one of the first residents of his Avon View development. Jim and his brother, Willie Calvin, joined their mother's family in worshipping at Evergreen's Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. In the mid-1960s, Ms. Smith joined thousands of other African Americans in the Great Migration and moved north to Cincinnati, seeking a better future for herself and her sons, who continued to live with their grandparents in Evergreen.

During the summer months, Jim and his brother Calvin visited their mother here. It was during these warm, bright summers that Jim witnessed the opportunities that might be possible in Cincinnati. He enlisted in the US Air Force after graduating from Conech County Training School on May 30, 1963. Shortly after his 1970 discharge from the Air Force, he joined his mother in Cincinnati permanently and began studies at The University of Cincinnati.

The Avondale Community Council hired Jim as executive director of the Avondale Redevelopment Corporation (ARC), to help eradicate the devastation to the heart of the community by the April, 1968 riots. Jim and his team worked fiercely with its community members, city, state, federal, and financial sector partners to return economic stability and build safe, dignified, mixed-income housing to Avondale.

The successful results of their efforts can still be seen today in the Avondale Town Center (Phase I), Nanny's Day Care and office building, ARC's office building and rental units, and The Urban League Building. Avon View, the 50-unit senior building on Reading Road, continues to provide secure housing to seniors. Led by Jim, the team provided affordable home ownership in Reading Green Phases I and II (25 townhomes) and Harvey Point Townhomes. The former WCIN Radio station parking lot became Cedar Meadows I and II (48 townhomes) and up the hill, 17 newly constructed luxury homes became Spring Home Estates. Many in the neighborhood will recall the vibrant summer festival, Hot Fest, which Jim sponsored. Combining his interests in art, community, and historic buildings, Hot Fest featured a regional or national artist each year and was held in the renovated former Avondale firehouse.

A passionate advocate of affordable housing for all, Jim embraced the challenge to duplicate this success in Walnut Hills as executive director of The Walnut Hills Redevelopment Corporation (WHRC). During his tenure, the WHRC renovated the historic Alexandria into affordable housing for seniors, constructed single-family duplexes at Stanton Avenue, and Jonathon Meadows Townhomes (adjacent to Walnut Hills High School). The WHRC was also instrumental in the rehabilitation of the Dillard Building on McMillan Street.

In his leisure time, Jim had a fondness for tennis (he owned a sporty collection of tennis whites); photography (he was a staff photographer for Stars and Stripes during his Air Force enlistment); jazz (he was an annual sponsor of our August Its Commonly Jazz series), and all facets of the visual and performing arts (enjoying alternate summer vacation time at the Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem and the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta). Jim was enthusiastic in his appreciation of art produced by local, regional, and national artists. His art collection, and the resulting close relationships he formed with the artists while traveling to visit their galleries across the country, was a never-ending source of pride and joy. He was a devoted fan of Lincoln Ware and listened to this Cincinnati legend on the radio for decades of his adult life.

Jim has been an active member of many boards and organizations, including the Historic Conservation Board, Leadership Cincinnati, the Donald P. Sowell Endowment Committee of The Cincinnati Art Museum and The Finlay Market Board. He also assumed leadership positions in national and regional minority-led redevelopment organizations. A recipient of several awards and commendations throughout the years, Jim was particularly pleased to receive The 2013 Jim King Award. The Connect Grow Build Avondale Award was presented to him in 2023 by the Avondale Redevelopment Corporation. He was proud, as well, to be recognized for his military service in a pinning ceremony during The Daughters of the American Revolution Vietnam War Veterans Commemoration in March of 2026.

Jim King departed this life on June 14, 2026, not long after receiving this final military honor and paying one last visit to his beloved Evergreen, Alabama with his wife Patricia, his adopted sister Jean, and close friends. He was preceded in death by his mother: Vergie Smith and his brother: Willie Calvin Smith; his father: John David King, and siblings: Jacqueline A. Jackson, Jimmie D. King, Joseph Mixon, and John D. King, Jr.

Jim is mourned and his memory cherished by his wife of 35 years, Patricia King; his son, Sean King and granddaughter, Cheyenne King; his step daughter, Tiya Miles (Joseph Gone) and grandchildren, Nali, Noa, and Sylvan Gone; his daughter, Monica Williams and her children, Eddie IV, Bria, Nickolas, Diarus, and Sebron and her grandchildren: Christiana, D'Niyah, Eddie V, EJ, Brayden, Josiah and Jayden. Jim will also be missed by his siblings, John (Sherry) King Jr., Rose (Michael) Loftin, Bernadette (Eric) Bumpers, and William Fantroy, and by his adopted sister, Mary Jean (William) Bolton.
His memory will also be held by a host of other family and friends.