Tony King: An Inspiring Educator, Dapper Dresser, Supportive Friend

Rachel Norton sat across from Tony King in his office during their first meeting about preparing for college. Her heart pounding, Rachel thought of all the possibilities and felt unsure.

King laughed.

"He made me see that the question marks were opportunities, not something to fear," Rachel said.

Rachel, a graduating senior and President of the Braintree High School Student Government, shared this memory last Friday during a tribute to the former guidance director, who passed away unexpectedly last August. His life was celebrated with a reception attended by dozens of former students, colleagues and friends, with song, and with memories of his compassion, wisdom and wit.

King worked in the Braintree Public Schools for 35 years. He was beloved for guiding "thousands of lives, adolescent and adult, in countless ways," according to the plaque that now hangs at the guidances offices at Braintree High, renamed for Anthony T. King.

Honored throughout his career by various organizations, King was a Teacher of the Year, was recognized by the Massachusetts Office of Children, and even saved the life of a student in 1987.

They say the true test of a guidance counselor is whether his or her students can use what the counselor has taught them to stand alone and succeed, Rachel said. "I remember him every day and his memory inspires me."

King's wife, Jane Kreinsen-King, a retired BHS English teacher, said that she and her husband were lucky to find a town like Braintree, stocked with people who shared their traditional values and believed in the power of education.

"I am filled with gratitude," Kreinsen-King said.

King moved to the United States from London when he was a grammar school student. He attended Mt. Carmel High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University, later adding master's degrees in educational administration and counselor training from UMass Boston and Boston State College.

Beyond his formal education, King was a voracious and diverse reader – he plowed through the Hunger Games series last year – and a news junkie, devouring newspapers, magazines, television and radio. He took cooking, photography and ballroom dance classes.

"He was the epitome of the lifelong learner," Kreinsen-King said.

King's passion for knowledge applied equally to the people around him.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan, a 1977 graduate of Braintree High, said that during last year's graduation ceremony, held inside the gymnasium because of poor weather, he approached King, who said simply, "How's she doing?"

King, of course, meant Sullivan's daughter Molly, who had graduated from the high school in 2008 and went on to graduate from the University of Delaware.

"He was sincere in his question and he truly wanted to know how she was doing," Sullivan said. "Tony defined guidance."

Another definition for King, one that was ringing in Kathleen Spencer's ears when she set out to write about his legacy, is "always."

He was always a skilled counselor, but also always a friend, and always there for students, said Spencer, a longtime Braintree English teacher and former BHS housemaster.

King was also always a "force for equality of opportunity" and always handsomely dressed. "He always made us laugh," Spencer said.

For Thomas Morin, a graduating senior and yearbook editor, laughter came from King at just the right time, as he was about to take his first Advanced Placement exam.

Morin recalls sitting in the room with 10 to 20 No. 2 pencils ready to go, shaking and sweating. King was proctoring the test, and when he got to the punishment for breaking the rules, he added to the part about cancellation of test scores, "or personal injury or death."

"Thank you Mr. King," Morin said. "We are better people for having been part of your journey."

King's impact is omnipresent at Braintree High School and his contributions will live forever, former Headmaster David Swanton said.

"It could be said that Tony never walked alone in this school's hallways," Swanton said. "People gathered at his ear and followed in his wake."