J. Austin King; Retired Rocketdyne Engineer
J. Austin King, a retired Rocketdyne engineer and longtime Woodland Hills resident, has died in Canoga Park at the age of 74.
King died Friday of cancer, his wife, Joan King, said.
Born March 19, 1916, in Louisville, Ky., he graduated in the late 1930s from the University of Louisville. He worked as an engineer for NASA in Cleveland and for a jet-engine manufacturing company on Long Island before moving to California in 1959. He was hired by the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International Corp. in Canoga Park in 1961 and worked as an engineer for the company until his retirement in 1986.
King was a member of St. Bernardine’s Roman Catholic Church in Woodland Hills and played in bridge clubs at the church and at work.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years; sons Larry King and Greg King of Woodland Hills; daughters Cara King of Woodland Hills, Nora King of Lancaster and Dorothy King-Miller of Playa Del Rey; and mother Grace King of Louisville.
A funeral was held Monday with burial at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills. Gates Kingsley & Gates Mortuary in Canoga Park handled the arrangements. Donations can be made in King’s name to the American Cancer Society, San Fernando Valley unit.
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