Mother of Five Cornellians Is Among Victims of Binghamton Shootings

The shooting in Binghamton that left the small city reeling in its wake has a connection to the neighboring Cornell community.
Teacher Roberta King, who was killed inside the  American Civic Association while substituting for an English as a Second Language class, left behind 17 grandchildren, including Ilisa Naukam ‘09. King was the mother of 10 children, five of whom went to Cornell, according to the Associated Press.
Throughout her career, King’s passion for ESL teaching led her to touch thousands of lives in the Binghamton City School District and Windsor School District. Though she was 72 when she died, King maintained a strong passion for teaching. She grew up in Syracuse and graduated from Syracuse University, according to the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin. She also had diverse interests in music, cooking, architecture and doll collecting.
King was not scheduled to teach at the ACA on the day the shooting occurred. In fact, she received a last-minute call from a colleague with a request to cover for her so she could take the day off to celebrate her wedding anniversary, according to the New York Daily News.
“She was so kind and generous,” King’s son, Jeff, told the Daily News. “It’s hard to believe she would die in such a violent way.”