KING, MAORA JANE "SKIPPY" died July 7, 2018 at home in Tampa, FL.   Born November 5, 1924 in Cleveland OH, her parents were Edwin De Groot Thompson and Mary Stuart Meehan.  Orphaned by age 10, she was adopted by her grandparents Hugh and Florence Meehan of Chicago, IL and they soon moved to Tampa.  After graduating in 1943 from the Academy of Holy Names, she married Earl "Bud" Witt and they moved to Tacoma, WA. They had two daughters, Jane Gay and Penny Maora and then divorced. In 1949 she married James Lawrence King in Sacramento, CA and had a daughter, Jimi Lin.  After moving back to Tampa they had a son, Lawrence Edwin and later divorced.

Beginning in the late 60s "Skippy", began working to help battered women, sometimes sheltering them in her home. She worked closely with Pat Gonzalez to open "The Spring" in 1977, a center to assist battered women.  Skippy was also a driving force in organizing The Women's Center which was incorporated in 1972 when she became the Director.   This was one of the first facilities dedicated to women's reproductive rights in Tampa.  In addition to abortions, they offered general health care, vasectomies, a 24-hour answering service, and the first feminist bookstore in Tampa in1975, The Feminist Connection.    Throughout the years she helped other cities start their own Women's Center. In the seventies NOW awarded her one of the first Diana Awards, which honored those who worked for women's rights.

In 1977 she became an LPN, and then trained as a lay midwife and in 1982 opened the Alternative Birthing Center. In addition to the many home births she participated in, she helped other birthing centers get started around the state.  One of the hallmarks of her career was her case begun in 1978 to be licensed as a lay midwife, which went to the Florida Supreme Court before it was finally won in 1982, paving the way for other lay midwives.  At the Midwives Association of Florida conference in 2009 she was honored as a founding mother.

Skippy was predeceased by her best friend and partner of thirty three years, Penny Pohle.  They loved training their dogs and taking them to compete in dog shows and to cheer people up in nursing homes.  She was also predeceased by her son, Larry in 1993 and her grandson, Ben King in 2015.  She is survived by her daughters Jane Kemmis (Doug) of Sacramento, CA, Penny Witt of Olympia, WA, and Jimi King (Leon) of Tampa, FL.  Skippy is also survived by 5 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Many thanks go to the Plum Team at Lifepath Hospice and to Serenity Meadows Crematory.