John M. King Jr., 98, ran a Philadelphia trucking company.

JOHN KING was an ambulance driver in the Army Medical Corps on Newfoundland during World War II when he got a life-changing assignment.

A group of Army nurses had been hiking on Telegraph Hill in St. John's when one of them fell and twisted an ankle and needed transport to a hospital.

Along came the handsome medic to save the day.

Love blossomed even though Florence Bialaszewski was a lieutenant and John was a lowly private. And because of the disparity in rank, their marriage on Newfoundland was kept a secret from the brass. However, it endured for 52 years, until her death in 1998.

John M. King Jr., who ran a prosperous trucking company in Philadelphia before moving to Port Orange, Fla., where he became active in city and community affairs, a doting father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died Oct. 16 of pneumonia while in hospice care in Port Orange. He was 98 and formerly lived in Langhorne.

His Army service included a stint as a USO entertainer in which he did comedy skits with comedian Phil Silvers and other comics and performed with a young and almost unknown Frank Sinatra.

"One of his favorite memories was drinking beer with Sinatra after their performances," said his son John M. King III.

Not so pleasant was when he was called on to help carry the dead and injured from a horrendous hospital fire in St. John's.

After the Army, John returned to the John M. King Transportation Co., founded by his father in 1912 with a horse and wagon. In fact, John had started helping his father in the company at age 9. He continued working there until he entered the Army.

After the war, he became president and CEO and earned a reputation as a demanding boss. In fact, his employees referred to him as "the Czar."

He was active in the Pennsylvania Motor Transport Association, which honored him as Man of the Year.

John ran the company until 1985, when he retired and moved to Florida. He became a regular attendee at Port Orange City Council meetings, where he spoke for the Coalition of Port Orange Homeowners Associations, of which he became president.

"He was such a regular at the meetings, they put his name on a chair," his son said. "He was the kind of man who always had to try to run things."

John was active in other civic activities in Port Orange, and also was kept busy by the activities of his 12 grandchildren.

He was born in Philadelphia to John M. King Sr. and Mary E. King, and graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in 1935. He was an outstanding runner and set a record in the Penn Relays in the mile relay.

Besides his son, he is survived by three daughters, Noel Bird, Maureen Kilby and Patricia Justice; another son, Michael; 12 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Services: Will be private.

Donations may be made to the Emory L. Bennett Memorial Veterans Nursing Home, 1920 Mason Ave., Daytona Beach, Fla., 32117.