By all accounts, Florence King was an unassuming woman who lived a simple life until her death in April at age 86. 

But if there was a cause where she stepped out and stepped up, it was her and husband Pat’s support for the West Valley Center of The Children’s Center Utah. 

For the first time in its 62-year history, The Children’s Center recently announced it is renaming its West Valley City location the “Florence K. King Children’s Mental Health Center” in recognition of her years of advocacy for and financial assistance to the organization which provides infant and early childhood mental health treatment for young children and their families. 

The center added in a statement that “the naming of the building now stands as a lasting tribute to her compassion, generosity and unwavering commitment to children and families across Utah.”

That support culminated in a “significant” donation by the King Family Foundation to expand “access to critical mental health services for Utah’s youngest and most vulnerable children,” according The Children’s Center Utah. 

“Florence always believed that the greatest impact comes from helping others,” said her husband Pat King. “Supporting The Children’s Center Utah reflects who she was at her core—someone who always chose to give, to care, and to lift those who need it most. I’m grateful to see her legacy honored in this way.” 

The center “provides comprehensive, trauma-informed mental health services for children” up to age 6 “and their families and caregivers, addressing challenges at a critical stage of development,” the center said in announcing the renaming. 

“Many children come to us with a range of mental health concerns and often we’re the place where a family is discovering what those may be,” said Rebecca Dutson, president and CEO of The Children’s Center.  

Florence King had been a booster of the center since 2015, specifically its programming such as the outpatient clinical services for kids and their families.

The Children’s Center will expand its presence beyond West Valley City in July when it is scheduled to open a new facility in Lehi at the Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Center. 

“We’re really the only organization (in Utah) that exclusively focuses our mental health treatment experience on benefiting children,” Dutson said.