Obituary of James J. King

James J. King, age 77, of Pennington, NJ passed away peacefully on May 3, 2025, with his wife Janet and daughters Christine and Amy by his side.   Jim, as he was known by family and friends, was born in Trenton, NJ on December 27, 1947, to the late Thomas J. King and Grace Trenham King. 

Jim, a lifelong area resident grew up in Hamilton, NJ and was a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville and attended University of Maryland on a soccer scholarship.  He worked at New Jersey Manufactures Insurance Company for 43 years, retiring as the Manager of Credit and Collections.   He had a tremendous passion for helping people start their careers and mentoring them professionally.

Jim met the love of his life and best friend Janet in their senior year of high school and they were married for over 56 years.   They raised their daughters Christine and Amy in Lawrenceville, NJ, where they were members of the Church of Saint Ann.  Jim coached his daughter’s soccer teams at Saint Ann’s for many years. They moved to Pennington, NJ in 2003.   They are active members of the Wellington Manor community where Jim played cards every Tuesday night with the Wellington Manor Men’s Card club.

Jim was a great athlete playing baseball, basketball, and soccer growing up and was an All-State soccer player at Notre Dame.   He joined his East Trenton friends going to University of Maryland where they won four conference titles.  Upon graduation he received his certification as a soccer referee and officiated for over 30 years earning a reputation as one of the best in Mercer.  He rose to officiate NCAA games and became an accomplished trainer for the cadet referee program.  He was inducted into the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame in 2024.

Jim and Janet were members of the Lawrenceville Golf Club, where Jim got his first hole in one in 1998.   He would end up with an amazing 5 hole in one’s with his last one coming in 2022.  Jim a “lefty” golfer was a single digit handicap who won the NJM company league many times. 

He was an avid sports fan and a lifelong Yankees fan and his hero was Micky Mantle.  He attended many games with his family and was excited to go to the World Series in 2009.   Jim and Janet attended too many sporting events to count for their daughters and 5 grandchildren over the years.   Jim and Janet loved to travel, especially to Walt Disney World in Orlando and Vero Beach, FL.  They enjoyed going on cruises all over the world.  They loved to vacation on Long Beach Island creating special memories for their family each summer.   Pop as he as he was called by his grandchildren, loved spending time with each of them during his retirement years and became the official commissioner of the family Wordle Group.  He will be terribly missed.

Predeceased by his parents Tom and Grace, his sister-in-law Patricia L. Downs and niece Ellie Downs.   He is survived by his wife Janet Bombery King and children:  Chistine King  O’Reilly, and her husband Brian O’Reilly, Amy King Hardiman, and her husband Patrick Hardiman, his precious grandchildren Katie O’Reilly, Jack O’Reilly, Ryan Hardiman, Lauren Hardiman, and Emily Hardiman, sisters Carol Lee Britton and Gloria Jean Latini (Gary), brother in law Charles Downs, nieces and nephews Gary Latini II, Jean Marston, Carol Jacob, Jeffrey Downs (fiancée Mary Jo) Scott Downs (Heather), Gregg Downs (Robin), great nieces and nephews Stephanie Kelly, Morgan Downs, Mia Downs, Max Downs, Jacob Downs, Luke Downs, Hope Downs, and great-great niece Addison Kelly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 9, 2025 at 10:00AM at The Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.

Interment will be held at St. Hedwig Cemetery, Ewing Twp., NJ.

The visitation for Jim will be held on Thursday evening from 5:30-8:30PM and again on Friday morning from 8:30-9:30AM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.