Obituary of Marguerite Eileen King Topping
Marguerite Eileen Kidd King Topping, born to Ernest M. and Agnes J. (Fordred) Kidd in April 1923 in Maidstone, Kent, England, passed away on Saturday, February 5, 2023 at Bentley Commons at Parson Village, Mt. Olive Township, NJ, just shy of her 100th birthday.
Peg is survived by her children, Terence M. King (the late Martha Anne Smith King) of Annandale, VA; Dennis G. King of Myrtle Beach, SC; Peter R. King of Rutherfordton, NC and Lauren R. King Sturtevant of Cookeville, TN; her five grandchildren, Tracey A. King Barrett (and husband Eric) of Fairfax, VA; Virginia L. King Leggett (and husband Chris) of Fairfax, VA; Timothy W. King (and wife Samantha) of Eatontown, NJ; Alyssa N. King Bartolotta (and husband Andrew) of Hopatcong, NJ; Gregory T. King (and wife Amanda) of Washington (Warren) NJ; her four great-grandchildren, Ryan & Joshua Barrett and Brandon & Elizabeth Leggett. Peg was predeceased by her siblings, Dorothy Kidd Frost, Jack Kidd and Reginald Kidd.
Peg was a WWII veteran of the Women's Royal Naval Service of England (Wrens) where she met her first husband, George T. King of the U.S. Army while at a U.S.O. dance in London, England pre-D-Day. They were married in England on February 23, 1944. Peg moved to her in-laws home in Newark, NJ later that year. The family later moved to Parsippany and then to Boonton in 1955. Peg was the first of her family to immigrate to the United States and sponsored many of her family members to do the same in the 1950's and 1960's.
Peg remarried in the early 1970's and lived in Yap, the United Nations Territory of the Pacific Islands, then Camden, SC, Garden City Beach and finally Pawleys Island, SC. She moved back to NJ to Mount Olive Township in 2013.
Peg's working career was that of a receptionist/secretary starting in the late '50's until retiring in 2000. She was involved for decades with the Cosmopolitan Club, groups of foreign born women in both NJ and SC. Peg volunteered as a tour guide for the Camden (SC) Historical Society and was a participant in a local theater group there. She recorded radio commercials for the local radio station as well. Peg and her family enjoyed weekend long drives, picnicking, and camping - having visited over 40 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico.
Services were private.
