King was born in Casselton, Cass County, North Dakota and was raised on a farm.
He graduated from Lincoln High School, in Casselton, North Dakota, in 1957.
He received his bachelor's degrees in mathematics and in civil engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1961 and in 1965.
King lived in Golden Valley, Minnesota with his wife and family.
King worked for IBM as a staff instructor and as a system data processing engineer.