K. DeWayne “Dewey” King, 95 years old, of Waukesha, WI, passed peacefully to eternal life on April 13, 2021.
Dewey was born October 1, 1925 at Cando, North Dakota to Abram and Vaughn King. He developed his love of history, public speaking, writing, and leadership skills during his formative years in Cando in a family of 4 brothers that loved sports and their faith.
He was enormously proud of his American heritage. Unable to serve his country because of a 4-F classification, he dedicated himself to his college career. He played varsity football for 5 years and earned his Bachelor of Science from University of North Dakota. In 1949 he was selected as Honor Athlete of the Year. He later earned his Master of Science from UND as well.
Dewey had an accomplished career spanning nearly 30 years as a collegiate football coach. He was part of the coaching staff at Michigan State, University of Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University. He was the head coach at San Jose State University and Wheaton College. While at Rutgers, Dewey developed and instituted the practice of recognizing interceptions by awarding stars which were pasted on the player’s helmet and served as a warning to the opposing team. Dewey is also the author of 2 books, “Jericho-A Modern System of Pass Defense”, and “I Heard it From the Coach.”
Dewey has been honored twice by the All-American Football Foundation with the Lifetime Achievement
Award and the Top Assistant Coaches Award. He is the recipient of the prestigious Sioux Award and the Thomas C. Clifford Award from the University of North Dakota where he was inducted into the UND Athletic Hall of Fame.
The great love of Dewey’s life was his bride, Peggy Tiedeck, who he met while coaching at University of Pennsylvania. She went to a place in his heart that had been waiting for her. Their marriage was a true partnership of love and devotion and was an inspiration to all who knew them.
Dewey was a voracious reader and loved to camp and travel to historic places. He treasured his friends and maintained close relationships with his boyhood companions, college friends and professional colleagues. His players were very important to him and many will recall that Dewey had an incredible memory of details about them both on and off the field. Dewey was very active in every church he joined and lived his faith with dedication.
Dewey was preceded in death by his dear wife of nearly 65 years, Peggy, who passed November 19, 2020. He is survived by his sons, Doug (Kerry) King and Bruce (the late Becky) King; his granddaughters Jamie and Rebecca King; three great-grand-children; the youngest of his 3 brothers, Harold (Barbara) King; and numerous nephews and nieces.
A graveside service for both Dewey and Peggy is planned for month, day, at time ( PLEASE WATCH FOR UPDATES) at Salem Cemetery, Wales, WI. It will be recorded so that his many players, colleagues and friends may share in the celebration of Dewey’s and Peggy’s lives. In lieu of flowers please consider a contribution to Abram R. And Vaughn Owens King Memorial Endowment. To make a donation online, go to https://undalumni.org/schoolsand-colleges and use this Fund ID: 47826. Or mail your check to UND Alumni Foundation, 3501 University Ave.,
Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of DeWayne "Dewey" KING, please visit our floral store.