Get to know

Terry D. King

Live a good, honorable life; then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
- Cowboy Wisdom

Dr. King has taken care of children his entire career. His mantra is “the greatest responsibility you can give another person, is the care of your child” and he has dedicated his life and work to educating others on this imperative duty. Many of his early patients are now parents and even grandparents! Dr. King has always cared for the less fortunate and has twice been recognized by the Louisiana Public Health System as well as the Salvation Army, the Knights of Columbus and the American Heart Association for his tireless efforts. In 1978, Dr. King traveled with Project Hope to Krakow Poland to participate in the heart program at the Pediatric Institute, guiding and training physicians, performing procedures and taking care of children. He has written chapters in books and has given talks worldwide to other physicians and has presented numerous lectures for medical students, nurses, conferences to students preparing to enter healthcare at all the universities in our area. He has encouraged and pushed many to achieve more than they thought possible.

Terry and his brother Richard were raised on a ranch in Texas by dedicated parents Marjorie and Dean that instilled in them the value of hard work and taught them to appreciate the reward of a job well done. Terry has a passion and curiosity for learning and exceled in school, being voted “Outstanding Senior Boy” by his high school teachers. He played summer baseball and was a member of the track team. Throughout his high school and college years, Terry spent summers in Louisiana checking cotton for his uncle, further learning the landscape, foliage, and insects across the state. He learned early that the food in Louisiana was special and that it was home to lush, tree studded, rolling green hills and beautiful countryside with countless rivers and streams.

Terry was on the University of Texas track team and a member of the Order of the “T” which recognizes lettermen in sports. While pursuing a master’s degree, he decided to change to medical school. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in two years and nine months, again excelling in his classes. He was 1 of 17 pediatricians in the US and Puerto Rico to be chosen as a Wyeth Fellow, an honor bestowed to individuals that exhibited exceptional skills and aptitude for pediatrics. Terry’s post graduate training was at Duke University in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. His mentor, Dr. Madison Spach, was instrumental in shaping Terry’s career and instilled in him to “leave no stone unturned” and ignited his curiosity for research.

Terry served as a major in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War, being stationed at Lackland Air Force Base. His skills as a practitioner and in the cath lab fueled his innovative spirit and although no one else agreed, he had an idea that closing holes in the heart could be done with a catheter as opposed to open heart surgery. Dr. King became a permanent resident of Louisiana when he left the Air Force in 1972 and joined the Ochsner Clinic. At Ochsner, he had the privilege of working and traveling with three incredible surgeons, Dr. Alton Ochsner, Sr. and Dr. John Ochsner and Dr. Noel Mills. He was acquainted with all the founding fathers of the Ochsner Clinic and worked closely with Dr. Merrill Hines to build pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. Pivotal in his career was Dr. Noel Mills, a cardiovascular surgeon who agreed that closing holes without surgery was indeed possible. The two invented the King Mills Cardiac Umbrella and in 1975, Dr. King was the first person in the world to successfully close an atrial septal defect in a human. For this work, Terry received awards as the Young Investigator of the Year, the North American Hemisphere Award for Research, the William B. Peck Scientific Research Award and the Manuscript of the Year. This device and technique have been the basis for the insurgence of catheter-based repairs in the heart and other organs throughout the body. The Pediatric and Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium awarded Dr. King with the Pioneer Award and later established a travel scholarship in his name to optimize the sharing of ideas, techniques, and knowledge with physicians from underdeveloped countries. Terry and Nancy were married in 1995. They have 5 wonderful children, married to 5 delightful spouses and 15 picture-perfect grandchildren all raised in northeast Louisiana. In 2001, Dr. King and his staff began the first annual pediatric symposium titled “Once Upon A Time… New Stories for Pediatrics”. National, regional and local faculty educate physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, students and other health care professionals on cutting edge technology and information related to pediatric healthcare. But he is also an entrepreneur, and in 1978 he started Kingsland Ranch in west Ouachita Parish, which, with the help of his sons, has grown to an 850-acre cattle ranch. He ventured into the restaurant industry, owning Copelands in Monroe, King’s Chop House, Restaurant Sage and 102 a Bistro. And, the incredible spring water that bubbles from the ground of the ranch is now being bottled as King Spring Water. Dr. King was awarded the 2010 Kitty DeGree Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in Business by the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and in 2015 the A. O. Evans Award for his outstanding contributions to our community by the West Monroe Chamber of Commerce. In 2016, he received the Louisiana Cattleman of the Year Award by the Louisiana Cattleman’s Association. In 2021, Dr. King was honored to be chosen a Louisiana Legend, given to the best and brightest of Louisiana’s sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves in a variety of disciplines and have brought honor to the state. Dr. King loves being a physician and has used his God given talents as a physician, educator, innovator, and entrepreneur and business man to build pediatric cardiovascular programs and other businesses across the state.

Education

High School

Robert E. Lee High School

Baytown Texas

College

Bachelor of Arts, University of Texas Austin, Texas

Master of Arts, Southwest Texas College (No degree, transferred to medical school)

Post Graduate

Medical Degree

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas

Pediatric Internship

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas

Pediatric Residency

Duke University Medical School, Durham, North Carolina

Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship