Melvin Herbert King, Jr. aka Skip (Skipper), eldest son of Joyce and Melvin King, Sr. was born on March 15, 1952. He passed away at home on October 6, 2023. He was 71 years of age.

Skip was a lifelong resident of the South End neighborhood of Boston. He attended Boston Public Schools (Louisa May Alcott, Abraham Lincoln and Boston Latin 7-12). Graduating 1970. At BLS he was on the basketball team and played basketball at the South End Boys Club and also served as referee. Growing up, he looked out for his younger siblings.

During the Summer he attended the United South End Settlements Camp Hale in North Conway, New Hampshire. He grew from camper to counselor.

After counselor at Camp Hale, Skip was employed by the MDC and was stationed at the Melnea Cass Pool on Martin Luther King, Jr Boulevard, Roxbury. He forged many relationships with other youth and peers and after work they would head over to the Elma Lewis Playhouse in The Park to hang out and listen to the concerts. He also hosted a few parties at his home. He liked to entertain.

Upon graduation from Boston Latin, he was accepted for a full scholarship to Columbia University where attended for two years. He left and did various courses at Boston State. He achieved his Master's in Education from Cambridge College. His focus was Mathematics. He taught for a few years at St Joseph's Community School and worked as a substitute teacher in Boston Public Schools, taught Math to adults at UMass Boston and tutored youth. He also worked for the MBTA.

Skip was an avid sports fan and could talk stats on most sports. Basketball and football were his favs. He was mainly a Boston sports fan much like his dad. They were always discussing the teams and players. When his father was homebound, Skip regularly made sure to connect with and alert his father to the televised sports events they both enjoyed.

Skip loved popular music which he shared with his Uncle Vernon who would give him some of the latest records. You can tell when a song he liked was playing you could hear him singing as he always turned up the volume! His sister Nancy would treat him to a George Clinton-Funkadelics Concert.

His brother Michael was his right and left hand, picking up special foods and prescriptions, preparing some of his meals. Several of his friends would visit and take him out. While the past several years were tough health wise which slowed some of the activities he was used to, Skip still maintained a positive attitude on life and resolved to exist with his condition.

Skip was pre-deceased by his father, Melvin Sr., and is survived by his mother Joyce, and his five siblings, Pamela, Judy, Michael, Nancy, Jomo, eight nieces and nephews, seven grand nieces and nephews, his Aunt Olga, and cousins and friends.