Lloyd M. King

Lloyd M. King of Andover, 97, died July 19, 2011. He was born Sept. 5, 1913, to James Woodson King and Elfie Cook King in Adrian.

After graduating from Adrian High School in 1931, he worked as a company clerk and later a foreman of Civilian Conservation Corps camps.

He married Gift Love Haveri, daughter of John and Aina Haveri, of Finland, Nov. 23, 1935, in Duluth.

After the CCC camps, he worked for the Forest Service and Rice Lake Wildlife Refuge. During World War II he worked in the Duluth Ship Yards and at Rosemount Engineering.

In 1947 his mentor from the CCC, George Archibald, encouraged him to move to Richland, Wash., to work on the highly secret Hanford nuclear project. He returned to Minnesota in 1955 and settled in Luverne to work as business manager and construction superintendent for Rolf Construction. He oversaw steel frame construction of thousands of grain bin storage units, schools, and nursing homes.

He learned to fly during this time in order to support the far-flung Rolf operations throughout the Midwest.

In 1962 he began a 20-year career with Guy F. Aktinson Company based in San Francisco — moving to Karachi, West Pakistan, as general manager for the port operations of the Mangla Dam construction. He was in charge of all Karachi port operations and shipping of equipment to the dam site more than inland. Over 300,000 rail cars were loaded with equipment and supplies for the project.

After Karachi, he was business manager on dams in Sonora, Calif.; Mica, British Columbia; Sydney, Australia; and Porta la Cruz, Venezuela. He provided advanced surveys of projects for Guy F. Atkinson in the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, and Pakistan.

He retired in 1977 but continued to travel. Lloyd is preceded in death by his wife, Gift; daughter, Sondra Ann Soli; and infant daughter, Jean Gift. He is also preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Alton M. King and James Woodson King; and stepfather, A.L. Davis; half-brothers, Clifford, Eldon, and Robert Davis; and half-sister, Julia Davis Little.

Survivors are son, Robert J. King (Dianne) of Vienna, Va.; son-in-law, Robert Soli of Coon Rapids; and grandchildren, Samantha King of Washington D.C., Teresa Dillenburg (Gregg) of Andover, Christopher Soli (Cheryl) of Dayton, and Patrick Soli (Sara) of Ham Lake. Great grandchildren are Melissa and Ryan Dillenburg of Andover; Taylor, Somer and Cassidy Soli of Dayton, and Avery and Ellyn Soli of Ham Lake; and half-brother, Charles Davis (Beulah) of Omaha.

Lloyd loved to fly, was a skilled machinist, and could operate and fix anything. He loved to travel with Gift during their 64 years of marriage. He will be greatly missed by his family.

A family remembrance gathering will begin at 2 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Finland Historical Site. Lloyd will be interred with his beloved Gift at Crystal Bay Cemetery. The family suggests memorials to either the Finland Heritage site or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Tags: two harbors, finland, obituaries