Gary King (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)

‘He’d be tickled. He and President Clinton were good friends,’ Gary King said of his father. ‘They fought a lot of political battles together.’

Attorney General Gary King confirmed Thursday  that former President Bill Clinton will attend the funeral of his father, former Gov. Bruce King, on Saturday.

Clinton will even say a few words during the funeral, Gary King said.

“The Clintons have certainly said that they developed a lot of their campaign style — a lot of their philosophy of how policy should be approached– by watching my father and my mother,” King said. “We are very touched that President Clinton wants to come.”

King, who is recovering from neck surgery and is still wearing a neck brace, said at a news conference that being raised on a farm helped prepare him for his parents’ deaths. Former First Lady Alice King died last December.

“He sort of taught me to be philosophical about this,” King said of his father. “I think those of us who grew up on farms and ranches are more comfortable with life and death, because you see a lot of it, I think, growing up on a ranch. We know that it’s a part of the natural cycle of life. In actuality we miss him sorely.”

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King revealed, in the first public comments by a close family member about Bruce King’s death, that he used to call his father at home for advice when things were “rough” at the office, and for political advice. Now he says he feels like he’ll have to pick up the slack and continue the family philosophy of public service.

“I think that there’s still a lot of things that need to be done for children in New Mexico,” Gary King said. “I think that there is a lot of things to be done, you know, to make New Mexico the place he thought it should be, and I suspect that I will give some speeches as we go through that encourage a lot of other people to adopt that philosophy of focusing on what’s the best for the people of the state of New Mexico.”

Funeral Arrangements

Flags continue to fly at half staff around the state, and the former governor’s body will lie in state today at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

King said his father’s wishes were for a simple service “without a lot of speeches and eulogies,” but they are going to make an exception and let the former president, who became governor of Arkansas during King’s second term, say a few words. King said he does not want pictures taken of the family during the service or burial.

“Not everyone in the family — the nieces, nephews and grandkids — they didn’t all sign up for public service,” King said.

Security has been tightened but the public is still invited to the funeral. Parking is expected to be limited near the high school in Moriarty, where the funeral will be held.

King’s burial in the Estancia Valley will follow the funeral service.