HERMITAGE, Tenn. — James Ray Bankston Sr. died Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. He was 85.
Mr. Bankston was a graduate of St. Aloysius High School. He graduated from Hinds Community College in 1949, and Millsaps College in 1951, and did post-graduate work at Mississippi State University.
He served in the U.S. Navy Rserve from 1947 to 1953, including active duty service during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. He retired in 1986 from the Soil Conservation Service, where he was a specialist for archeological studies on SCS and NRCS construction projects.
He was a founding member of the Donelson Duck Club and a member of Ducks Unlimited and the National Rifle Association, and was a communicant of St. Paul Catholic Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Gloria Bankston Reece; and nieces and nephews.
Services were Friday, Jan. 31 at Hermitage Funeral Home.