Voices: Bidding Adieu to Jack King

Journalist, sailor, and thorn in the side of local politicians, King leaves behind a rich legacy of civic activism rooted in his deep love for Coconut Grove.

Editor’s Note: Andy Parrish is a longtime resident of Coconut Grove, a neighborhood activist, and a former member of Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board. He wrote this community voices piece for the Spotlight.

Jack King, 80, the irrepressible journalist, yachtsman, runner, history buff, and friend of the Grove and all Grovites, especially those who like to argue, passed away late Friday, July 11.  

King’s wife of 33 years, Heather Wulkan, was at his bedside in Yacht Harbour. He is also survived by his daughter Michelle “Chelle” Temple King, and two granddaughters, Clara and Eleanor. 

Older Grovites remember Jack as the publisher, editor, and chief reporter of the Coconut Grover, a weekly newspaper that was distributed for free throughout the Grove for over a decade starting in December 1988.  

It was Monty Trainer who got Jack to pick up his reporter’s notepad again to fight for the village, the bay and the “Grovite way of life.” In 1996, Jack won a Golden Coconut award for fighting those battles.  

Jack never shied away from a fight. In 1997, Miami New Times wrote about Jack’s Coconut Grover paper: “If you’re looking for a good old-fashioned newspaper war, full of vituperation, vengeance, and litigation, cast your gaze southward to Coconut Grove.”  

Long-time friend and neighbor Dan Ricker, another one-man-covers-everything local journalist who publishes The Watchdog Report, had this to say: “He was a man who loved Coconut Grove, and sought to hold local politicians accountable. Therefore, Jack was either loved or hated by those politicians. Lots of them, on all sides.’’

Gabrielle Lyn D’Alemberte remembers Jack when he moved into Yacht Harbour, where her mom and stepfather, attorney Robert Parks, lived: 

“I was younger then, but Jack always made a point to get my opinion, and ask me what issues I cared about in our community.  He would also correct me when I got it wrong, which was frequent enough. I loved his passion and wish we had more dedicated advocates like Jack, willing to put it all on the line for the betterment of our sacred Grove village.”

Jack’s interests and energy were legendary. He raced sports cars and had an IMSA racing license, loved to travel, and biked through Europe with friends in his 70s.  

While he said he couldn’t “carry a tune in a wheelbarrow” and  “the only instrument I can play is the stereo,” he was a long-standing supporter of New World Symphony and a donor to the arts.  

When not at his typewriter, you’d likely find him sailing in a regatta on Biscayne Bay. Later years would find Jack and Heather sitting at the bar at Berries or with a host of his Yacht Harbour neighbors enjoying a meal and talking politics. Never a dull moment.

While this chronicle of Jack’s life could go on and on, he himself, with his crinkly smile, raspy laugh and inquisitive eyes, would say “deadline.” So, we will end with:

TEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT JACK KING:

1. Jack’s full name was John St. Onge King. His father died in WWII a month before he was born. His step-father’s first name was “Grover.”
   
2. Jack, raised Catholic, once won an “Altar Boy of the Year” award. No kidding!
   
3. He was proclaimed an “Honorary Citizen of New Orleans, Louisiana” in 1956 when he was just 11 years old.
   
4. Jack attended St. Leo Boarding School in Tampa, now  St. Leo College. He studied at the University of Florida where he was a reporter for The Alligator, the student newspaper.
   
5. Jack for a time was the high school state champion record holder in the mile, trying for a sub 4-minute time long before Jim Ryun did it.  Throughout his life, he continued his love of running. 
   
6. Jack’s most beloved sailboat was American Pie but throughout the years he also sailed in Stinger, Air Mail, Plum Evaded Me, and Hot Streak.
   
7. One of the many stories where Jack scooped the competition concerned disgraced former Port Director Carmen Lunetta, a frequent diner at the Grove’s Buccione restaurant and a key figure in the infamous “Court Broom” scandal.  Jack referred to Lunetta as “our personal mobster.”
   
8. Jack started his professional career in journalism working for the Palm Beach Post – right alongside future Miami Herald publisher Dave Lawrence, calling him “the best newspaper man I have ever worked with.” They had also worked together at the “Gator” when they were at the University of Florida.
   
9. Jack conspired with Australian Grovite journalist Ian Ball to chronicle the “forgotten history” of the invasion of olde Cocoanut Grove by wombats swimming onshore from a wrecked 3-master.
   
10.  Jack was a skilled chef. Many enjoyed a sumptuous meal at the table of Jack and Heather. 

All issues of the Coconut Grover have been digitalized and are available courtesy of Miami-Dade College at https://extensis.mdc.edu:8095/the_coconut_grover/#/