Family of the other Stephen King speaks amid SA government's email blunder
Stephen King was the author of an email praising the SA Health system, which was sent to reporters by Chris Picton. (Supplied: Debbie King)
In short:
The family of a man who the state government mistook for someone else, igniting a pre-election debacle, has spoken for the first time.
Mr King's wife Debbie says she is not upset about the incident and has accepted an apology from SA Health Minister Chris Picton.
What's next?
Debbie says she wants her late husband to be remembered for his positivity and his love of life.
Stephen King's name has been in the media a lot this week.
But as the South Australian government found out the hard way, more than one Stephen King had lived in the state.
When Bronwen Paterson shared her story about her partner Stephen King being ramped before his death, SA Health Minister Chris Picton released an email that they said Stephen King had written, praising his care in the public health system after a battle with terminal cancer.
But it was not the same Stephen King.
Now, the other Stephen "Steve" King, the actual author of the email, has been found.
Sadly, he died in 2024 after losing a battle to prostate cancer.
But his wife Debbie King said she wanted to make it clear that she was not upset with what happened and wanted people to remember Steve for his positivity.
"A very positive person, always full of jokes. Virtually everyone who met him loved him," Debbie said.
A footy lover
Steve and Debbie met in 1980 and were married shortly after.
The pair lived on an 8-acre hobby farm in Towitta, about 100 kilometres north-east of Adelaide.
He worked as a plumber and also at a nursing home as a maintenance man.
Stephen King died in 2024 battling prostate cancer. (Supplied: Debbie King)
They had two children and their son trained as an apprentice under Steve.
Like many South Australians, Steve loved his football.
Debbie said he even played C-grade footy until he was about 60.
He was the vice-president and an under-13s coach at the Sedan Cambrai Football Netball Club.
Steve was also a "one-eyed Glenelg supporter" and Debbie recalled how he was ecstatic in 2023 when they won the grand final.
She said they were lining up outside and one of the player's mums had a spare ticket and gave it to Steve, which he was over the moon about.
"I used to stir him up because I used to be a Port supporter, we had a lot of fun arguing about football," she said.
Steve's cancer journey
Debbie said Steve's mother and sister died of cancer when they were both 64.
Fighting back tears, Debbie said that was his "one dread — that he would die when he was 64".
"But he made it to 66 and he was so proud of that."
Steve was diagnosed with prostate cancer and it ended up spreading to his brain.
A photo of him wearing his Tiger's hat and monster slippers on his last day of radiation, still makes Debbie smile.
Stephen King was heavily involved with football and played till he was about 60. (Supplied: Debbie King)
Steve lost his battle in 2024.
Debbie said their granddaughter was only four when he died and she still remembers him.
"She always watches videos of him and she just laughs all the time about Pop."
How Debbie found out
Debbie said she was eating her dinner on Sunday night when she heard someone say "Stephen King" on the television.
She said she did not take much notice of what was being said, but then her son received emails from the ABC and Health Minister Chris Picton.
He forwarded them to Debbie, and she read about what had happened.
She said she spoke to their children and Steve's sister and they were not upset with what had occurred.
"She [Steve's sister] said 'yep that would be him, sitting up in heaven causing more trouble'," she joked.
She said Mr Picton rang her and was "very apologetic".
"I said, 'I don't blame you or the premier', maybe a bit more searching should have been done before it was released but I'm not upset it was released, I thought it was a good email that Steve had written," she said.
Debbie said she remembers when Steve wrote the positive email about his experience in 2023 and joked about it having "no proper grammar".
"It was bad but he wouldn't let me correct it [the grammar]," she said.
Chris Picton says he takes full responsibility for the email blunder. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
Debbie said she felt "very sorry" for Ms Paterson.
She said the incident, although emotional, had brought up happy memories of Steve for her.
"There are still times, especially at night when I go to bed and I think, 'You should be here,'" she said.
"And there are times when I'm in a town and I see an older couple walking hand-in-hand and I think that should be me."
Debbie said that was just part of the grieving process and that she wanted to remember him as being so positive and loved.
"Don't get me wrong, he could be a pain in the ass, but we ended up growing stronger and stronger together. We could finish each other's sentences," she said.
"And that's what I miss, I miss the companionship and he knew exactly what I was thinking."