Mrs. King, who taught English at the community center, was among the victims who died in Friday's shooting rampage at the center.The teacher who died at the head of a classroom Friday when a gunman stormed the American Civic Association in Binghamton was identified Saturday by Binghamton police as Roberta King, who had deep ties to Syracuse.
King was substitute teaching for another teacher Friday at the Civic Association, according to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
People who knew her in Binghamton talked of her extensive doll collection and how she generously donated them for the annual Hanukkah museum at Temple Concord in Binghamton. Some of her dolls are on permanent display there.
On the Binghamton newspaper's Web site, many of the people commenting had her as a teacher and substitute teacher, and spoke glowingly of how she touched their lives.
King, 72, was raised in Syracuse, family members said Saturday. She also met and married Dr. Abraham King in Syracuse, where he began his medical training. The couple moved to Binghamton more than 40 years ago.
Born in Batavia, King grew up on Manor Drive in Syracuse,
Roberta King was a mother of 10 and a grandmother of 17, with two more grandchildren on the way.
But the 72-year-old English teacher will never know her unborn grandchildren.
Her life was taken Friday by a gunman in a classroom where she taught English to immigrants at Binghamton's American Civic Association, family members confirmed early this morning.
King was one of the 14 victims who died at the hands of a gunman Friday morning, Binghamton police confirmed to family members late Friday.
She and her husband, the late Dr. Abraham King, put their children first in their lives, sending all 10 to college, five of them to Cornell University in Ithaca, her son-in-law said.
She was a passionate collector of dolls, which filled her South Side Binghamton home.
Mrs. King was also an active member of Temple Concord in Binghamton.
from www.pressconnects.com &
www.syracuse.com