Person:Alan King (3)

Alan McLeod King was named after his first cousin, Alan Arnett McLeod, Victoria Cross winner, who died tragically of the Spanish Influenza in November of 1918.

Obituary, written by his children and published in the Montreal Gazette:

KING, Alan McLeod 1919 - 2007 July 18, 2007

Alan King was born August 27, 1919 in Brandon, Manitoba. He passed away in Montreal on July 13, 2007 after a long battle with the horror that is Alzheimer's.

Alan was a man of energy and vision. As a teenager he learned ham radio and that opened up the world around him. With his radio skills he gravitated towards aviation and became a pilot. He flew with Ferry Command during WWII, ferrying new aircraft from America's factories to troops around the world. After the war, he settled in Montreal and worked as a commercial pilot for Trans-Canada Airlines. His love of invention then took him to work with his uncle in the early days of the vending machine. From this was born VendKing International in 1947. VendKing (now VKI Technologies/ Filterfresh) grew to become a world leader in coffee machines with customers worldwide. VKI/ Filterfresh was sold to Van Houtte in 1998 and is still a thriving company to this day.

In the early 1950's he met an angel named Geraldine Audrey Mackinnon. They married shortly thereafter and enjoyed 32 magical years together before her untimely death in 1984. Alan and Gerry shared their lives with their four children and their grandchildren. They enjoyed travel, sports, theatre, ballet and music. They co-founded The Quebec and Canadian Associations for Children with Learning Disabilities. They were also instrumental in the growth and development of Centennial Academy, the little school that has shown it could - Go Centennial, Go ! Alan was a long-time member of Rotary. He was a dreamer and schemer, a lover of sailing, skiing, travel and adventure.

Predeceased by Geraldine King (MacKinnon). Survived by his four children, Sandra, Helen, Paul and Brian. And his eleven grandchildren, Michael, Andrew, Stephanie, Elizabeth, Christopher, Andre, Alex, Jason, Emma, Joshua and Danielle. Special thanks to the caring staff of Place Kensington and St. Margaret's, and Velma, Kathy and France. Thanks also to Orn Arnason, Fred Hooghiemstra (deceased), Ogawa- san/Toshiba, Christian Pouliot, Alan Suitor and Ray McManus for their friendship and devoted belief in the 'mad inventor' of the world's first single-cup coffee brewer. Thanks to Oliver Jones for his music and friendship. And thanks to all those who have showed their love and support for Alan over the years.

Please, please in lieu of flowers, a donation would be most appreciated to Royal Victoria Kidney Fund ( 687 Pine Ave W. # A1.07 Montreal H3A 1A1 ) or Alzheimer Society of Canada (20 Eglinton Ave W. # 1200, Toronto M4R 1K8).

Visitation at Centre Funéraire Côte- des-Neiges, 4525 Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, (888) 342-6565, on Monday July 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Tuesday July 24 from 10 a.m. followed by funeral service at 11 a.m. in the chapel of the funeral home.