Popular Five Points teacher dies in crash

Valley Times-News

Family and friends gathered on Friday to remember Harold “Bud” King Jr., who was killed Tuesday in a three-car wreck in Harris County, Ga.

King, 43, of Valley was a fifth- and sixth-grade science and social studies teacher at Five Points Elementary and Middle School. He was dedicated to his children, both in his class and his son and daughter at home, said sister Nancy Key of Lanett.

Key said, “He spent most of his time with his children or working with the children in his class. He was one of the best daddies you could find … He became a teacher later in life, but he put all he had into it.”

Rhonda Givens, principal of Five Points School, said King will be missed by faculty, students and parents.

“We’re like a family up here,” she said. “He was a good teacher and the children adored him. He really went out of his way to make education enjoyable for them.”

King was always “very positive, upbeat (and) happy,” Givins added. School officials notified children at the school and even some of King’s former students at other schools about his death Tuesday.

The school will hold a memorial for him this week and students have written letters to the family. A board to display letters written by students in his honor will be displayed at the school.

“He will really be missed here,” Givins said.

King was driving south on Georgia 103 about eight miles outside West Point when his SUV crossed the center line and collided with two pickup trucks. Three occupants of the other vehicles were treated for injuries, Georgia State Patrol officials said, but their names and conditions weren’t available.

Memorial services for King were Friday at Langdale United Methodist Church.