Inuvik (Feb 28/03) - Hundreds packed the auditorium at SAM school on Saturday to say farewell to a man whose efforts touched the lives of the town, the region and the territory.

Cliff King 1948-2003 - photo courtesy the King family

Cliff King, originally from Toronto, was a teacher in Inuvik for 30 years, the secretary-treasurer of the NWT Teachers Association, a volunteer with Inuvik Minor Hockey, Arctic Winter Games and Canada Games and the Inuvik ski club.

He was 54.

King worked with Our Lady of Victory parish council, was a member of the legion and RCMP All Ranks Mess. He was father to sons David and Jason and husband to Jodie, who taught across the hall from Cliff.

Jodie was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and the huge turn out to the service.

"People have held me up through this with food and flowers and friendship ... it makes you feel good rather than sad, in a way," Jodie said. "This town is truly, truly a special place."

Samuel Hearne secondary school teacher Dave Reid was friends with King for 20 years and described him as a hard-working man who loved his job and loved his life.

"He worked hard for the students, he worked hard for the teachers, but he also liked to play hard -- he was a very competitive person," Reid said. "He was a collegiate athlete and he brought that into his life."

Reid said Cliff knew so much about teaching in Inuvik and in the NWT and always eager to take young teachers under his wing, even right up to his last days.

"Some people would say, 'Oh, I'm retiring this year, so I won't bother with the new teachers,' but he got involved with them," Reid said. "He helped them through teasing and cajoling and inviting them over to his house.

"He was the consummate professional and a super person," Reid said.

Samuel Hearne principal Carson Atkinson said Cliff was a fierce advocate for the students that went far beyond the work in class.

"He was a very strong proponent for the students and always had a reason if there was something going wrong with them," Atkinson said. "I had the utmost respect for him in the way he dealt with students in a professional and supportive fashion."

Amanda Johns, school council president, said the mood in the high school last week was a somber one.

"The students were pretty ripped up about it and the teachers were, at times, almost zombie-like," Johns said.

She recalled how he would "prowl the hall" in the part of the school that became known as "The King Wing."

"He was loud; if you were doing something stupid, he'd point it out to you," she said.

As her home room teacher, King would hold a morning and afternoon chat session with the students, just about everyday things.

"He wasn't condescending and he wouldn't try to please the students like some teachers do," she said.

"If you impressed Mr. King, then you really did something good," she said though tears. "I respected him so much."

Stacey Applejohn met Cliff as a young teacher and recalled one of his favourite sayings: "You don't have to be big, to be good."

"If anyone had ever witnessed him guarding his hallway like a little bulldog, or running around organizing the grad ceremony, knows it's true," Applejohn said.

NWT Commissioner Glenna Hansen recalled her days on the education council and her dealings with Cliff.

"He'd ask a question and he'd always look me straight in the eye," Hansen said.

"It really forced me to think about the kind of answer that I was going to give him, because I knew he could read and see right through me."

Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland met Cliff as a "tall and scrawny kid," in a Grade 10 accounting class.

"Cliff had a bit of a bark and he made you pay attention," Roland said.

Later in life, he worked with Cliff on education issues as an MLA and as a teammate on the ice.

"Cliff always had a laugh, whether it was in the dressing room at the oldtimer's game or if it was just talking to his colleagues in the hall," he said. "He always had a laugh to share and that's how I'll remember him."

After the service and reception, Jodie thanked the crowd and asked that they take some time remembering her husband in the way he'd appreciate most.

"Cliff was not a man of pomp and ceremony and he'd want us to celebrate his life rather than mourn his passing," Jodie said.

"I want you to spend the next little while thinking about the good times and man, there were a lot of them."