Joanna King

Joanna Christine King (nee Bolster), age 68, of Raleigh, North Carolina, passed away on July 6, 2026.

Born on August 31, 1957 in Schenectady, New York to James and Virginia Bolster, Joanna was the youngest daughter in a family of seven children. Her family moved around the northeast throughout her childhood, eventually settling in Burlington, Vermont, where she met her future husband, Tom, in 1971. Immediately smitten, the couple was married shortly after Joanna’s graduation in 1975, and they have been together ever since—nearly 51 years, raising two daughters in homes across the US, from Vermont to Texas, before finally settling for the last two decades in North Carolina.

Joanna inherited many characteristics from her mother (most notably her stubborn tenacity), but she inherited her gift for gab from her father, who passed away when Joanna was just eighteen years old. Joanna loved to chat with anyone and everyone, but nothing made her happier than offering a kind word or compliment to a stranger, or stopping to rub the belly of a passing pup. Her smile lit up the room, even while she herself was bravely battling breast cancer, and later, Alzheimer’s disease.

Joanna is survived by her husband, Tom, two daughters, six grandchildren and five siblings. She was preceded in death by her mother, father and sister. A celebration of life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.