Rick King; Diver

Rick King, 48, the diving team leader for the Redondo Beach chapter of the controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization devoted to marine conservation that has been accused of taking the law into its own hands in its efforts to save undersea life. King, a former Navy frogman who was recognized by President John F. Kennedy for his work in pulling Mercury astronauts from the sea, also developed an ability to paint underwater and wrote and illustrated a children’s coloring book, “Let’s Go Whale Watching.” In San Pedro on Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.