R.I.P. - State Senator Jim King, FSU Grad

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<p>Jim King, a passionate fan and supporter of FSU, passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer at age 69.</p>

<p>He will be missed in Florida politics.</p>

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Sen. King, who served as Senate president from 2002 to 2004, lived to the fullest — and with a rollicking personality that let him get away with excesses others might not have. He was passionate about all things related to Florida State University.

See: [Florida</a> Sen. Jim King dies at age 69 - St. Petersburg Times](<a href=“http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article1021880.ece]Florida”>http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article1021880.ece)</p>

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<p>Senator King beats the Gators one last time…</p>

<p>Sen. King to be interred at FSU</p>

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The late Sen. Jim King wants to be a Seminole for eternity. And his beloved alma mater is happy to oblige. King, the popular Republican lawmaker who passed away Sunday after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, will be cremated and interred at the year-old King Life Sciences Building on the campus of Florida State University, family spokesman Gus Corbella confirmed Monday.</p>

<p>FSU officials dedicated the $55-million building to King last September in honor of his help in securing state funding over the years for biomedical research and other campus projects.</p>

<p>“He proudly always said one of the reasons he was so successful in life was the education he got there,” said Corbella, a lobbyist and longtime family friend who served as King’s chief of staff for 10 years. “When you think about it, where else would he ever be?”</p>

<p>**King will be the first person interred on a Florida public campus since lawmakers this spring passed legislation (SB926) allowing for university to build “columbariums,” permanent structures that hold the ashes of alumni.
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University of Florida officials pushed for the law at the request of alumni, prompting King — ever the FSU devotee, ever the funny man — to call it “the dead Gator bill.”</p>

<p>Sen. Thad Altman, sponsor of the law, said it’s fitting that King be the first to benefit from it.</p>

<p>**“He always was one step ahead of the Gators,” said Altman, R-Melbourne. “And now with this, he’s one step ahead again.”
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See: [Sen</a>. King to be interred at FSU | Naked Politics](<a href=“http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/07/sen-king-to-be-interred-at-fsu.html]Sen”>http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/07/sen-king-to-be-interred-at-fsu.html)</p>