James W. Wilkins
January 25, 2011
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Service Details
James William Wilkins, II, 78, died January 25, 2011. A memorial visitation will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, January 29, 2011, at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street.
James was a retired architect and previous partner at Wilkins Bussard Dikis.
He is preceded in death by his parents, James and Ruth Wilkins, I; and sister, Mary Jane Bacon.
James is survived by his children, Jeri Blackburn, James W. Wilkins, III; grandson, Joseph Stravers all of Arizona; nieces Sally Mirocke, Sandy Milikin-Tickle, and Suzanne Bacon.
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
ALAN BOWMAN
02/03/2011
TO THE FAMILY OF JIM WILKINS --
I WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY WHEN JIM DIED AND ONLY NOW FOUND THE NOTICE ON THE
AIA WEBSITE. JIM WAS A SPECIAL PERSON IN MY LIFE. WHEN I STARTED MY CAREER AS
A STUDENT AT IOWA STATE, JIM HAD GRADUATED AND SERVED IN THE ARMY, AND
RETURNED TO IOWA STATE TO TEACH. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE HIM AS AN
ADVISOR. HE ALSO BECAME A MENTOR AS I FOUNDED ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
GROUP, LTD. IN DES MOINES. EVEN THOUGH AS A PARTNER IN A FRIENDLY-COMPETITOR FIRM,
WILKINS -BUSSARD-DIKIS, JIM WAS ALWAYS GENEROUS WITH ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE
WHEN IT WAS REQUESTED. LATER STILL WE FOUND OURSELVES AS FELLOW PARISHIONERS
AT WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. JIM WAS WISE, THOUGHTFUL,INTROSPECTIVE,
AND A GOOD DESIGNER AND I AM GLAD THAT I ENJOYED HIM FOR FOUR DECADES.
Rod Stevens
02/03/2011
Jim was a great friend and mentor during my days as a young architect. I always valued his advice and will never forget his laugh. He taught me to never take myself (or anyone else) too seriously. He will be sorely missed. Please accept my sincere condolences.
Edd Soenke
02/03/2011
Jim was a fellow architect I always admired for his caring nurturing of the profession. His engagingly humorous approach will be missed by all his architect colleagues.
Dale Port AIA
02/02/2011
Jim was my business professor at Iowa State and I knew him through the AIA of Iowa. In school he taught me the "business" part of being an architect... the legal documents, the total over view of process of architecture, etc. He was a wonderful personality and I very much enjoyed him as an instructor. He made what could be a boring class, interesting. At AIA annual meetings, he was always an interesting guy in that he cut through the baloney and got to the bottom of the issue to resolve it. Glad to have met him and he to be a part of my education. I have been a partner with Struxture Architects in Wterloo and Des Moines since 1976 and I will be retiring in about 1 1/2 years.
My sincere condolences go out to the family of Jim.
Bob and Marvel Hall
01/29/2011
We knew Jim a long time ago when we were all poor students at Iowa State. So sorry to hear of his death.
M.K. Carney Harshfield
01/29/2011
I was sorry to hear of Jim's passing. He was a very good cook, story teller and good friend. I have many fond memories of my days living in Des Moines and knowing Jim. I send my sympathies to his family and he is in my prayers.
Brian Conley
01/27/2011
I was so sorry to hear of Jim's passing. Jim was a good friend and a great Cyclone backer and will be missed by many. Jim always had a good word to say and was a pleasure to be around. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jim's family.
Brian Conley
Des Moines, Iowa