Dorothy "Dot" Herring King

Dorothy (Dot) Herring King, age 89, residing in Chapel Hill, NC passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side, on December 21, 2025, after a courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. Dot was a devout follower of Jesus Christ and a faithful member of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Chapel Hill.

Dot was born in Albertson aka Seven Springs, NC in Duplin County on July 13,1936 to Henry Herring and Winnie Blanton Herring. Dot graduated from BF Grady High School in 1954. On September 30, 1954, she married the love of her life, Robert Earl King, CLU and they were married for 33 years. Over the years, Dot and Earl gave birth to four beautiful children and, although she had various jobs, her life was primarily focused on rearing their children and supporting her husband, Earl. He was in the life insurance business for 26 years and relocated his family to Rocky Mount, NC, Roanoke, VA and Raleigh, NC. Later due to health issues, it was necessary for Earl to retire early. Both Dot and Earl were very involved in nurturing their children, teaching them Christian values. It was always clear to see that God and family were their highest priorities.

After Dot and Earl’s children were raised, Dot started her own business providing medical alert devices to both elderly and vulnerable people on which she built a reputation of integrity and compassion. She always extended a helping hand and made every attempt to put the safety of her clientele first and foremost. She loved serving her clients for over twenty-nine years.

After Earl’s passing in 1987 at the age of 52, Dot remarried Mr. Joseph Claxton Harris on May 27, 2005, until he passed in 2019 at the age of 90. They met at a social gathering and shared a dance, and the rest was their love story. Claxton worked as a pharmacist for roughly 50 years, where he and his family owned four drugstores in Durham, NC.

Dot is survived by her four children: Robby King, Rick King (Sheri), Sandy King McGraw (Terry), and Reggie King (Molly). Also, she is survived by five grandchildren: Jake King (Jessica), Noah King (Sanyu), Abbey King Harwell (Justin), Matt King, and Josh King. She has four great-grandchildren: Levi, Hayden, and Maddie King as well as Luke Harwell.

Dot was preceded in death by her first husband, Earl King, and her second husband, Claxton Harris as well as her daughter-in-law Molly Albea King and her granddaughter Taylor King and sisters, Gay Butner Brown, and Betty Kaye Herring Shapiro.

Dot lived her life grounded in faith, service, and love for others. She talked about our Lord and Savior constantly, focused on reading her Bible daily, and conveyed a positive attitude throughout her years on this earth. She was very vocal about how much she loved all her family and friends. Also, her trust in our Lord was evident and there is great comfort in knowing that she will spend eternity in Heaven.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Breast Cancer Research Foundation (https://give.bcrf.org) or Susan G. Komen (https://www.komen.org).

“She fought the good fight, she finished the race, she kept the faith”. – 2 Timothy 4:7

“WELL DONE, THY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT”… – Matthew 25:21,23

The family will receive friends Saturday 12/27/25 at 1:00pm at Walkers Funeral home in Chapel Hill. The Funeral service will be held immediately after at 2:00pm at Walkers