Terry L. King

Terry Lee King, 80, of Amarillo died at his home Saturday, June 15, 2024.

Terry was born April 16, 1944, in Shamrock, Texas to Clifford and Bertha King. His family lived in Texola when he was a kid until he moved with his mother to Amarillo in 1956 shortly after his father died. He graduated high school from Palo Duro High School in 1963. 

Terry met the love of his life in 1972 and 6 months later he and Kathy (Holcomb) were married, on September 14.

Terry lost his dad when he was only 10 years old, but with the guidance of his mother and brothers he was a man with determination and strong work ethics. He worked as a butcher when he was young and loved to show off his skills on every Thanksgiving turkey and every fish he caught, be it catfish or halibut. He started working as a sales representative for Philip Morris in 1973 and was known as “The Marlboro Man” by many in the Texas Panhandle when he retired after 26 years. After retirement, he and his wife hit the road as full-time RVers and enjoyed seeing the sites all over the country and meeting so many RVing friends. 

Whether it was raising horses and rodeoing with Kathy, breeding bird dogs and hunting, building docks on the coast of Texas so he had a place to park his boat after fishing, Terry always kept busy with other work he loved. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Valle de Oro Fire Department for 13 years. He and Kathy enjoyed many years square-dancing with Ye Ole Squares here in Amarillo. And they both enjoyed quail hunting and were members of the Amarillo Bird Dog club. One of his enjoyments was grabbing a cup of coffee and chatting with friends, old and new. But his greatest passion was spending time with Kathy, his daughters and the rest of his family.

Terry enjoyed stock car racing. When he was young, he raced alongside his brothers at Amarillo Speed Bowl dirt track, driving the #5 car; and when he was older, was an avid NASCAR fan, watching every race on TV and several in person with family and friends (including trips to Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway). 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Bertha; 1 sister, Ann King; and 5 brothers, Clarance, Johnny, Elvoy, D.L. and Gary. 

Survivors include his wife, Kathy; 2 daughters Teri Fullwood and husband Gary of Roscoe, TX, Jeri Rose and husband Mike, of Amarillo; 2 granddaughters Kelli Sierra Thompson of Amarillo, and Ally Benner of Roscoe, TX; 2 brothers RA King and wife Kathy of Arkansas, and Ronnie King and wife Naoma of Arkansas; and many life-long friends.

A very special thanks to The Craig Senior Living community, BSA Compassion home health, and BSA Hospice of the Southwest.

The family suggests in lieu of flowers, memorials be to BSA Hospice of the Southwest (Crown of Texas Hospice Foundation; 5211 SW 9th, Ste 100, Amarillo TX 79106).

There are no memorial services planned at this time.