Graveside services for James L. Dykes, 77, of Greenville will be at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, January 2, 2021 at Leland-Stoneville Cemetery. He passed away on Saturday, December 26, 2020 at his home. Arrangements are under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Greenville.
James was born to W. C. Dykes and Elizabeth Morris Dykes in Kosciusko, Mississippi on December 8, 1943. He graduated from Natchez-Adams County High School in 1962 and from Copiah Lincoln Junior College in 1965. He also attended Auburn University and Mississippi State University.
James worked for many years for Mississippi Power & Light, later Entergy, supervising, planning and performing maintenance in the company’s power plants. After his years with Entergy, he worked for Clarksdale Public Utilities, Modern Line and Delta Pride in Indianola.
James was also an ordained minister and served as pastor through the years at Darlove Baptist Church, Bogue Baptist Church, Jennie Baptist Church in Jennie, Arkansas and Southside Baptist Church in Greenville. Since his retirement from the ministry, he was an active member of First Baptist Church in Leland.
James was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, William C. Dykes, Jr.
He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Susan Jordan Dykes, and her family who took him in and treated him as one of their own; two sisters, Darlene Dykes Taylor of Brandon and Belinda Gay Burch of Mexico. He is also survived by three children, Kim Stephens, Kristy Atkins, and Larry Dykes all of Natchez, along with 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.
If you would like to honor James’s memory, please make donations to the First Baptist Church of Leland’s Building Fund, Arms of Mercy, or Gideons International.