David R. (Roddy) King, III, age 75, of Crestview, FL., passed away on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. David was born on May 9, 1950 in Charlotte, North Carolina to the late David R. King, Jr. and Lelia Carolyn (Savage) King and lived there until age 6, when his family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1956. David attended Murphy Elementary, Jackson Junior High School and graduated from Ben L. Smith Senior High School in 1968. Upon graduation, David joined the United States Air Force and served active duty until 1972. David's primary assignment while in the Air Force was performing as a Crew Chief on F4D fighter aircraft and other types of jet fighter aircraft while stationed at Eglin AFB, FL. Notable achievements were he and his aircraft (66-8698) being selected to assist in the years long development of laser guided conventional weapons, the precursor to todays' Cruise Missiles.
After separating from the Air Force, David took a short nine month "vacation" back in Greensboro, then moved back to Florida and was employed by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Civil Service. There he was involved in the jet Engine Intermediate Maintenance field performing the tear down and buildup of fighter aircraft jet engines. David rose to the position of Supervisor, JEIM and retired in 2002 after thirty ycars. He was then employed by Dept. of Defense contractors and assigned as Propulsion Flight Lead and ultimately retired again in 2017.
David enjoyed cooking, yardwork, working on his old Chevy pickup, deep sea fishing reel repair, water skiing, golf, softball, shooting pool, throwing a cast net, surf fishing, and especially deep-sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, where he was a regular participant in the annual Destin Fishing Rodeo; where he possessed two first place and three second place awards in the grouper division. David once held an International Game Fish Association World Record, All-Tackle category, for a specific species of grouper he caught when fishing in the Rodeo.
David is survived by his wife, Terry V. Robison; twin daughters, Jacquelyn Danielle King of Tallahassee, FL and Katelyn Carolyn King of Fort Walton Beach, FL; sister, Carolyn S. Robertson and husband, Rob of Pleasant Garden, NC; brother, Walter E. King and wife, Nancy of Matthews, NC; brother, Barry H. King and wife, Kathy of Winston Salem, NC; and numerous cousins, a niece, two nephews and their families.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.