James Henry “Jim” Wilkes III died Nov. 7, 2016, at Shady Lawn Nursing Home in Vicksburg. He was 79.

An avid photographer and technophile, Wilkes was raised in and around Cary, Rolling Fork and Fitler.

He was a graduate of Cary High School and Mississippi State University. He attended Virginia Theological Seminary in 1961-62 as an aspirant to Holy Orders.

He worked in various locations and positions with the YMCA beginning in the early 1960s, finally serving as executive director of the Ralph S. Mason YMCA Camp in Hardwick, N.J., which Wilkes renamed for Mason in the mid 1970s.

He was president of the New Jersey Camping Association for two terms. He represented the United States in an exchange program to the USSR in the early 1980s to demonstrate how to set up camping programs for youth and young adults.  After retiring from the Y, Wilkes briefly lived in Memphis. He returned to the family farm at Redwood in 1995 where photography, carpentry, classical music and his beloved dogs were his passions.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James H. Wilkes Sr. and Mabel Rushing Hendricks Wilkes; and by his brother, Daniel Watt Wilkes Sr.

He is survived by his former spouse, Sara Wilkes; children, James H. “Chip” Wilkes (Sandra McBeth) and Paul Rushing Wilkes, both of New Jersey; three grandchildren: Charlotte McBeth Wilkes, Ethan Paul Wilkes and James McBeth Wilkes; niece Lauren Wilkes Stubblefield of Utica, nephew Daniel Watt Wilkes Jr., of Vicksburg, along with many cousins, a great-niece, and several great-nephews.

Wilkes was cremated by Riles Funeral Home. A service to scatter his ashes will be scheduled at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Ralph S. Mason YMCA Camp for camper scholarships; to the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi for seminarian scholarships; or to PAWS Rescue of Vicksburg, or to a local humane society or animal shelter of their choice.