James H. Wilkes died on May 9, 2022, after a brief illness. Born in Rochester, NY, on July 2, 1947, Jim was the son of John J. Wilkes, a Baptist minister, and Lois H. Wilkes, a middle school English teacher. The family moved several times during his childhood, living in Cleveland, OH, Melrose, MA, and finally in Charleston, WV, where Jim graduated from Charleston High School in 1965. He attended Concord College in Athens, WV, before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, where he served in the Third Marine Division from 1966 to 1969 and rose to the rank of Corporal. He was deployed as an artilleryman in Vietnam, specifically in Con Thien, Gio Linh, Dong Ho and Cam Lo. He was seriously wounded at Con Thien and awarded a Purple Heart. While recovering on the U.S.S. Repose, he was awarded a second Purple Heart for injury sustained during a wreck.

He married K. Jane Whited of Kanawha City, WV, in 1969 and, upon leaving the Marine Corps, completed his BA in Business at The University of Charleston, Charleston WV in 1972 (formerly Morris Harvey College). They had 2 children, Benjamin Thomas (1974) and Michael John (1976).  After working for a short while in the financial industry, he moved into purchasing for the welding and gas industries and rose to Vice President of Purchasing at VAWELD (Virginia Welding Supply), later acquired by AirGas. He was widowed in 2000 and moved to Cincinnati, OH, in 2005, where he worked as Purchasing Director for OKI until 2008.

In 2007, he married Elizabeth (Liz) M. Prigge, and together they owned and operated The Ship's Store at Four Seasons Marina in Cincinnati from 2009 until 2013. Shortly thereafter, Liz and Jim retired to Canyon Lake, TX, where Jim joined the Rotary International Club of Canyon Lake. Jim served on the Executive Committee from 2017 to 2021, serving as President in 2019-2020.

Jim spent his life in service to others, including serving on different committees and ministries for Baptist Temple, working with refugees from Viet Nam and other war-torn countries, volunteering for Hoxworth Blood & Tissue Center (Cincinnati, OH) and We Are Blood (Austin, TX), and volunteering as a Rotarian at numerous community events. He loved boating on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers (or anywhere), traveling the world, playing golf, and being with family and friends. He was active in the Great Kanawha River Navy and became a certified U.S. Coast Guard Captain in 2009.

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 15 years, two sons and daughters-in-law, Ben and Teresa Wilkes (Ripley, WV) and Mike and Michelle Wilkes (Towson, MD), as well as stepdaughters Amanda (Prigge) and Carlo Fiore (Aurora, CO) and Alexandra Prigge (Covina, CA) plus 5 grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Ginny Wilkes Blair (Black Mountain, NC) and Jonathan C. Wilkes and Carol Massar Wilkes (Jersey City, NJ).

The family requests that those wishing to memorialize Jim donate to the American Cancer Society or to the Gary Sinese Foundation Honoring America's Defenders. A celebration of Jim's life will be held at Baptist Temple, 209 Morris Street, Charleston, WV, on September 10, 2022, at 10:30 am in the sanctuary.