had a good time, so good, in fact that they didn’t leave
until 4 a.m. when the club closed for the day. Could it
be that the agents were not at the top of their game when
it came time to guard the president? Some theorized that
they weren’t.
“When word came back to me that Pat was bragging
about having me, a Baptist Sunday school teacher as his
lawyer, I decided I would no longer represent him, even
though he was responsible for getting a lot of business for
me,” King said. But, by that time, King’s law practice was
firmly established.
King became interested and subsequently involved in
other types of businesses, beyond his law practice. Real
estate and development, oil and gas production as well
as banking, all intrigued him and he began to invest in
businesses in those areas with an impressive amount of
success.
Meanwhile, the Kings also were bringing up their five
children.
About his upbringing, Phil King said, “The four things
Dad worked to instill in us was, that everybody knew the
Lord, that we knew the value of hard work and that we
worked hard, knew the importance of public service and
give back to the community and take care of our family.”
Sabbatical From Law
20
For one project, King purchased a 300-acre property
on the eastern edge of Weatherford as the site for an
upscale, gated community with amenities that included a
15-acre lake, a horseback riding trail and a golf practice
range.
“By 1980, I decided to cease practicing law,” King
said. He was only 49. “Other areas of business would
take less of my time and would allow me to enjoy my life
more.”
Shortly after King decided to cease pursuing his law
practice the nation’s economy began to tank, banks were
closing, real estate developments were stopped dead in
their tracks.
By that time, the Kings’ five children were young
adults, off on their own. Earl and Barbara King began to
talk about relocating from their home on Eagle Mountain
Lake to somewhere more peaceful. They started scouting
out towns and decided that they liked Weatherford. With
the real estate market slowing to a crawl, Earl King had
decided to put his Weatherford gated-community devel-
opment on indefinite hold. “I decided to change my plan
for the Weatherford property and develop that property as
a home for us and our children’s families,” King said.
Today, the 300-acre property is truly an upscale gated
community and only the Kings reside there. The family
constructed a home for Earl and Barbara King, a home for
Phil and Terry King, a home for Judge Craig and DiAnn
King Towson, a home for Donna and her family, a guest
house, a swimming pool and tennis courts. It’s all encir-
cled with a security gate.
Friends jokingly refer to the area as, “The King
Compound.” King has embraced the name.
“The great thing about living on the King Compound
is that three of our children also live there,” King said.
“We have the privilege of watching as our grandchildren
grow up. Now, our granddaughter and her husband and
children have moved to the compound (so far they have
five). We get to watch our great-grandchildren grow up.”
In 1985, Earl King walked into to a convenience store
in Weatherford and noticed a rack of pornographic maga-
zines next to the candy counter. He decided that some-
thing had to be done about that.
“I got involved in politics in Weatherford primar-
ily because I felt that the city needed an ordinance that
would restrict the sale of pornography inside the city
limits,” King said. “I ended up running for city council.”
The year was 1986 and he won. King went on to serve
three terms.
In 1989, Phil King was working as a Fort Worth Police
Officer.
“I’d been a police officer for 15 years and it wasn’t
until I was in my 30’s that I decided to go to law school,”
Phil King said. “It was really a financial consideration for
us because we had four kids with one on the way. Law
enforcement pays a lot better today, but back then I was
worried about how I was going to afford to send my kids
to college. The decision was, for the most part about
finances.”
That’s when Earl King decided to dust off his law
license.
“I hadn’t practiced for nine years,” King said. “When
Phil decided in 1989 that he wanted to go to law school,
I thought I’d better start building up a little practice again
so I started practicing out of my home and then when he
graduated, I built the law office over there. In the mean-
time, Craig (Towson) decided he wanted to go to law
school.”
Today, Phil King is an attorney with the firm
of Eggleston, King LLP, and has served as a State
Representative for the past 20 years. Craig Towson is a
district judge, his two sons, who are Earl King’s grand-
sons, Ryan Earl Towson and Matthew Towson recently
graduated from law school.
“Matt comes over every Thursday for lunch,” King
said. “They are about to have a baby boy and he told me
they were naming him Earl. We have 13 grandkids [and]
we also have a lot of great grandkids. There are 15 total.
I’ve always told my children, ‘work hard, study hard and
stay out of trouble.’ It’s important to get an education. I
think back on my life when I was very young. It was terri-
ble. I think, ‘Had I not studied hard, it would’ve stayed
terrible.’ As it is, I’ve been blessed. What brings me the
most joy in life is seeing my offspring do well and helping
others.”
Earl King’s Charities and Causes:
Former Member Director and Officer of Parker County
Citizens For Public Decency; Member, Officer and
Director, Parker County Crime Commission; Member,
Board of Directors, Parker County Citizens for
Responsible Government; Member, Weatherford Rotary
Club; Member, Officer, Director of Christian Men’s
Fellowship of Parker County Citizens; Former Member of
the Board of Directors for Parker County Center of Hope.