The King/Howe families' beloved matriarch passed away suddenly on August 17, 2011 from an embolism in Morrisville NY. She had recently moved from Ormond Beach FL so she could see more of her son, Jay, her daughter, Pat, her six grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. For her, family always superseded everything else in life. Thrilled to return to her northern roots and her beloved St. Lawrence River, she continued to be in touch with her family, always knowing the right words ("Ya done good!") to encourage them to feel they could succeed in anything. Her graciousness, elegant simplicity, and cheerful, optimistic attitude (it's raining so we can't have our picnic-"no problem," she would say, " let's eat in the car") are lifelong models for all. Her zest for life took many forms: poaching the perfect egg, using her chicken-in-a-chicken, bourbon cocktails, bridge, all types of books and sports, especially horseracing and the Syracuse basketball team. She edited her great- grand father's numerous hand- written civil war letters sent from his encampments to his younger brother in Phelps. Her original explanation about the letters to her children became the introduction to The Civil War: A Soldier's Letters Home, by Selden Partridge McCabe, Jr. Born in Albany NY on December 20, 1917, raised in Wellesley MA, she was the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs Archibald Drake and eldest granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Howe. She was married for 56 years to Joseph King, an MIT graduate and aeronautical engineer, whom she met while at Abbott Acadamy and married after attending Wells College in Aurora NY. They lived their lives to the fullest-enjoying their summer house on Murray Isle with their children and grand children, travels abroad, and journeys to harness tracks as they raced their horses. (She only enjoyed the races when their horses won!) Her family will celebrate her life on October 15 in Phelps NY at her grandparents' home which is now a historic landmark.