KING - Joan King Groves, 78, died Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005. "See ya later alligator," "After while crocodile"-that was our goodbye duet each time we parted, a mother-daughter inside joke about our mutual genetic big noses. I may put that adage on her crematory urn or "I told you I was sick." Mom had that kind of weird sense of humor. I love that she gave it to me. RIP, Mom. Mrs. Groves, originally from Sampson, Ala., and Defuniak Springs, Fla., called many places home as a naval officer's wife. Her last residence was Plantation Drive in King. A daughter, Vivian Groves Fulk; and son-in-law Randy Alan Fulk, also of King, survive her. Pensacola, Fla., was home for many years where she attended nursing training at Sacred Heart Hospital as a Navy cadet nurse from 1945 to 1948. A Navy officer's wife, her first son, Joe Alan Groves, was born in Whidbey Island, Wash.; he now resides in Pensacola. Her second child, Gregory Dale Groves, deceased, was born in Corpus Christie, Texas. She returned to Pensacola many years later after her trek around the country following a Navy officer's career, then bore her third child, Vivian Elaine Groves, and retired from being a Navy officer's wife in 1962. She held a registered-nursing license in California, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Washington and Maryland. Her favorite residence, though, was Ventura, Calif., where she lived near her sister, June Wilson, from 1963 to 1969 and later returned in 1979, until 1986 when she finally moved to North Carolina to be near her daughter. The love of her life was her father, George Dallas King, interred in Dothan, Ala.; he died when she was 17 years old. She had 13 brothers and sisters, of which she was the youngest girl. She has a surviving sister, Inda Inskeep, of Orlando, Fla.; and a surviving brother, David King, of Crestview, Fla. A memorial service will be conducted at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. It will be held at the home and garden of Randy and Vivian Fulk, 342 Goff Road, King, and will be officiated by the Rev. Frank Newsome. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hurricane Katrina victims through the Red Cross. Mom loved New Orleans and lived through many hurricanes, including Camille.