Dale King

Dale T. King, 77, died Jan. 15, 2026, at Intermountain Health in Billings.

He was born in Lawrence, Kansas, to Thomas and Velma (Gosney) King. He spent the first four years living in North and South Dakota and Wolf Point, while his father worked as a technical manager for a seismic crew. In 1952, his family moved to Billings and he gained a brother, Jack E. King.

His mother died when he was nine. A few months later, he and his younger brother had to stay with Oklahoma relatives due to their father's job transfer to El Dorado, Ark.

In 1958, Dale, Jack and his father returned to Billings. Shortly after, Thomas King married Geneva Jolley. Dale gained a stepbrother, Joe, and a stepsister, Candy.

He attended most of his school years in Billings and graduated in 1966 from Billings West High. During his senior year, he joined the Naval Reserve at the urging of his father. After graduation, he went to boot camp at age 17. He spent one year at the University of Montana and was called to his two-year active commitment in the Navy. He spent his 19th birthday off the coast of Vietnam. After an honorable discharge, he stayed in California, where he met Diana Donato. They married in 1969 and had two children, Denise and Thomas. They resided for most of their marriage in Billings and divorced in 1992.

In 1969, he attended Eastern Montana College in Billings for one year, then moved to Bozeman to follow in his father's footsteps. He majored in geology at Montana State University with an emphasis on petroleum. After graduation, the oil and gas industry was in decline. He earned the needed credits to get his teaching degree from Rocky Mountain College. This allowed him to be an educator for the Lockwood School District as well as a boys’ and girls’ basketball coach. He also did geology consulting during his free time. He ended his teaching profession after two years and went to work full-time as