‘Mr. Geneva’ Merritt King dies at 93

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FILE PHOTO Merritt King (right), 89, a retired U.S. Army engineer from Geneva pose for a photograph at King's Geneva home in 2008.

Updated: February 26, 2012 8:14AM

Merritt King had a way of captivating listeners about his service as an expert in map intelligence in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1941 to 1945.

“I was overseas for three years traveling all over — I delivered maps to the high command before a battle,” he said at a Geneva History Center USO dance held at the Geneva American Legion in 2009.

“When I landed on the beach, it was my job to check warehouses and German headquarters for safes — they thought there might be information,” he said.

King credited his education in the photography school of the Art Institute of Chicago for landing the job of mapping and aerial photos in the Army. He was an avid collector and shared some of his war era posters for the USO dance.

King, 93, died Tuesday at his home in Geneva in the company of his daughters, Alison King and Lesley Dimmick, both of Geneva.

King’s introduction to City Hall was via a mayoral appointment to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 1959. He served on many boards, including as historian emeritus of the Geneva History Center.

King served seven, four-year terms as an alderman from the city’s near west side. During that time, he spent 12 years as mayor pro tem, serving when the mayor was unavailable. He was later the vice chairman of the Kane County Public Building Commission.

“People called him Mr. Geneva,” said his daughter, Alison. “He got the bug for service and wanted to make Geneva an even better place.”

She said her father came to Geneva at the age of 10 when his family relocated from Milwaukee.

“He thought Geneva was a charming community, and he appreciated the architecture,” she said.

Alison said she believes her father’s legacy will be how he worked to control the growth of the town from the late 1970s through the early 1990s.

“He was very proud of the South Third Street gas lamps that he helped to facilitate,” she said. “When the city renovated the historic downtown district in 2000, he was happy the city kept the design and ambience of the gas lamps.”

King and his wife, Lynne Pearson, met in London during his service in World War II, and they were married for 50 years. Lynne died in 1994. The couple’s son, Bryan, was killed in a car crash involving a train on old Kirk Road in 1967.

He owned and operated King Heating and Air Conditioning in Geneva for many years.

Sharon Jones, a neighbor of 35 years, remembers King’s stories of his war years.

“What he experienced in the countryside of World War II was remarkable,” Jones said. “He had a remarkable memory of his time in the war. Although he had his own tragedy in life, he always had a positive demeanor and a smile.”

King received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, French Croix de Guerre and four Battle Stars. He flew nine missions in aerial photo reconnaissance over Germany and France. He served in Germany, France, England, Belgium, Africa and Egypt.

King was awarded the French Legion of Honor, Chevalier, by the French government in June of 2009. The award is in recognition of his valor while a member of the Army in the liberation of France. The French Legion of Honor Medal is the highest honor that France can bestow upon those who have accomplished remarkable deeds for France.

Alison said her father was honored to have flown on the second Honor Flight to Washington to view the World War II Memorial.

As part of the “Greatest Generation,” King survived June 6, 1944: D-Day, the Allied invasion of France.

“I am definitely amazed I’m still here,” King told the Beacon-News in 2004. “I think somebody up there must like me. I saw a lot of good friends from Geneva killed.”

Three days after D-Day, he landed on the beach at Normandy and fought his way inland. His job was to blow open enemy safes — he took out more than 250 on the way to Paris — and compile the information found within them.

King and his comrades captured a pair of German trucks filled with maps. Those maps led French military leaders to the location of mines placed in streets and parks all over Paris and surrounding cities.

Those German maps were so accurate, that the French soldiers assigned to remove those mines all survived. The number of civilian lives King helped to save is incalculable.

A private funeral service will be held for family and close friends. A public memorial visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Malone Funeral Home in Geneva.