Viola E. (Pollard) King

WORCESTER - Viola E. (Pollard) King, 90, died peacefully on Monday, August 5, 2019 at UMass Memorial Hospital-University Campus Worcester, following a period of declining health. She was born in Gardner, a daughter of the late Walter and Elsie V. (Blidberg) Pollard.
Viola was raised in Spencer. She went on to graduate from Clark University and earned a Master's Degree in Library Science from Simmons College, Boston. Viola spent her early years working for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and then went on to serve as the librarian for the former Worcester Junior College, where she worked for 30 years before her retirement. Viola was a longtime member of the Boylston Congregational Church, where she belonged to the Women's Fellowship and the Bible Studies groups. Viola was devoted to her family. Although she and her husband did not have their own children, Viola made sure that she was a large part of the lives of her nieces and nephews and their families. She was a constant presence at family gatherings, whether birthday parties or holiday meals, often being the first to arrive and the last one to leave. Her family will forever remember Viola's hearty laugh, the long phone calls at all hours of the day, and her brutal honesty, no matter what the subject. A voracious reader, Viola enjoyed any genre of books. As a librarian, Viola would often have a good recommendation to her patrons, because she most likely would have read it. Weekly visits to the local library were a norm for Viola. She also loved to spend time in her gardens, loved Ford brand of cars and dogs (the bigger the better) were a constant presence in her home.

Viola's beloved husband, Richard I. King died in 2003. She will be lovingly remembered by her two siblings, June Thern of West Brookfield and Harmon "Bunny" Pollard and his wife, Judith of East Brookfield; many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and their families. She was also predeceased by her brother, Walter Pollard, Jr.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Viola's family on Thursday, August 8th from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Fay Brothers Life Celebration Funeral Home, 1 West Boylston Street, West Boylston. A service honoring and celebrating her life will then follow at 12 Noon. Burial will be in Pine Grove Cemetery, Boylston. Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to a library of the donor's choice. To honor Viola's love of anything blue, please consider wearing "any shade of blue" to her services.