Former Scottdale police officer and longtime District Judge J. Bruce King was a man dedicated to the important things in life, his friends said.

“He was first dedicated to God. Second, dedicated to his family and, third, dedicated to his community,” said Roger Eckels, a former Mt. Pleasant Township district judge. “Bruce was a special guy.”

“He was a wonderful man, very sincere,” said Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert, a former Greensburg district judge.

King, 75, of Scottdale died Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital.

Albert recalled Mr. King was respected enough to be the chaplain for the state association of district magistrates for many years.

He was born Nov. 1, 1945, in Mt. Pleasant, the son of the late Jesse B. King Jr. and Betty J. Miner King.

Mr. King was a longtime member of Christ United Methodist Church in Scottdale. He was an usher for many years, including serving as head usher for the past few years.

Mr. King graduated from Connellsville High School in 1963, then attended the Pennsylvania State Police Academy for municipal police officer training. He also obtained multiple college credits.

Mr. King was a Scottdale police officer for many years. Albert recalled, while serving as a Westmoreland County detective, he and King worked on a homicide case together in Scottdale.

Eckels said he met King in the 1970s, when King was a Scottdale police officer and he was a Mt. Pleasant police officer.

He was elected to be the district magistrate for Scottdale and the surrounding area in 1982, serving until he retired in 2010. After retirement, he served as a senior judge for six years. King was fair in dispensing his duties as a district judge, Albert said.

“He gave people a chance to speak. Half the (district judge’s) job is common sense. He had it,” Albert said.

“He was very fair,” Eckels said.

Mr. King was a lifetime member of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 87.

He graduated from the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo, Ohio.

He was preceded in death by a granddaughter.

Surviving are his wife of 54 years, Susan G. Newell King; one son, David King of Scottdale; two daughters, Amy King Allegra of Scottdale and Jenny Beth King Hackett of York, S.C.; six grandchildren; one great-grandson; and a number of cousins.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Christ United Methodist Church, Market Street, Scottdale, with his minister, the Rev. Kathleen Barnhart, officiating. Those who attend the funeral service are asked to go directly to the church. Committal service and interment will follow in Scottdale Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were handled by Frank Kapr Funeral Home, Scottdale.

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