Othniel Emanuel King who sadly passed away on Easter Sunday 12th April 2020. Othniel was born on the 30th November 1933 in the parish of Hanover in the district of Haddington Jamaica . Over the years Othniel was also known as Artnel or John , but to the family he was simply known as Pops
Othniel Emanuel King was the first son of Thomas James King and Daisy Haughton , between them they had 5 sons Othniel Albert , William , Ishmael and Herman . Thomas King passed away in 1945 and at the age of 12 Pops became the head of the family , supporting his mother and his younger brothers .
Early life Pops attended Cacoon Castle Junior School in Jamaica where he excelled in woodwork and carpentry. Whilst at school Pops attended the 4H Club, which was a school gardening club . At such a young age he was passionate about agriculture which stayed with him through most of his life . After leaving school Pops leant his trade as a apprentice at JB Mowatt in Hanover, Jamaica.
At the age of 28 Othniel Emanuel King arrived in England in October 1961, where he lived with his younger brother William, at 16 Monica Road Small Heath Birmingham. As a professional carpenter he was fortunate to work with some of the UK's leading building and commercial contractors such as Wimpey , Bryant N E C just to name a few
In 1962 he met the love of his life Lola Deloris Jones, they fell in love and were married on March 14th 1964 and this year they celebrated 56 years of marriage . He would often say "you would get less for murder " but they loved each other very much they were very happy together and enjoyed traveling .
They had three children Garfield (known as Chris) and twins Tyrone and a daughter Maxine .During the early part of their marriage the king family lived in one room . They started marriage life at 39 Burlington Road , then 129 Floyer Road. It wasn't long after the family moved to 95 Banks Road Small Heath , then moving over to Charles Road where the twins were born . Maxine sadly passed away in 1967 , after the death of his daughter Maxine, he was never the same , as she was so precious to him . In 1968 the family moved to Chelmsley Wood Birmingham where they have resided for over 50 years .
Since his retirement at the age of 65 Pops has maintained to keep himself very busy. He has been very active with his local Church, Small Heath Baptist Church where he undertakes the role Steward. You would normally see him at the entrance of the Church on a Sunday, with a big smile , handing out lollipops and sweets to the younger members of the congregation, who referred him as the Lollipop Man. Every Tuesday you would find Pops at his church playing his favorite game of Dominoes with other senior members slamming banging the dominoes on the table .
For the past 50 years Pops had been senior member of Burnley Lane Allotments where grew Pumpkin, Kallalo, Onions , Garlic and many other vegetable delights . Pops was still attending his allotment three times per week and has planted all the seeds for the growth of this years crop, which we as a family will be picking mid July 2020 as a tribute to his legacy .
For those of you that knew Othniel Emanuel King he was a man of integrity, he would speak his mind and hold no grudge, a family man that would trace long lost aunts , uncles and other family members across the globe , because family meant everything to him . He was loved and well respected by everyone whose path he crossed.
Pops was creature of habit and was very particular about punctuality, and has been known to be ready for a event 2 hours before, even though the journey was 20mins away
Its never a easy task to express someone’s qualities in a short sentence as words fall short of capturing the true essence of this wonderful man . Pops will be forever remembered, a man that has touched our lives in so many ways . Othniel Emanuel King will be deeply missed by his wife Delores , his sons Garfield & Tyrone King , grandchildren Reece, Jade , Yasmin and Jordan. His brothers, members of Small Heath Baptist Church and all other family and friends
R.E.I. P Pops
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