ATLANTA – The King Center in Atlanta announced on Monday that Dexter Scott King, 62, the youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, is dead, according to reports.
King’s wife of 11 years, Leah Weber King, said in a written statement that her husband “transitioned peacefully” in his sleep at their residence in California. The King Center said he died after a “valiant battle with prostate cancer.”
He served as chairman of the King Center at the time of his death, Fox News Digital reported.
“He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end,” Weber King said. “As with all the challenges in his life, he faced this hurdle with bravery and might.”
Born in Atlanta in 1961, King was named after Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father first served as a pastor. He was just seven years old when his dad was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 by James Earl Ray.
In addition to his wife, King is survived by his sister Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King and his brother Martin Luther King III.
