Obit...

Posted by Kaye ‘63 on July 6, 2020, 4:21 pm, in reply to "Coach Parker Dykes"

(Sorry the photo is so large; I was unable to edit it for our space.) Verl Parker Dykes, Sr. of Bay Springs, Mississippi November 16, 1943 - July 1, 2020 Longtime Jones County Junior College Head Football Coach Parker Dykes passed away Wednesday, July 1st at his son’s residence in Brandon after a long bout with cancer. He was 76. Visitation will be held Monday, July 6, 2020 from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM at the JCJC Jasper County Center. Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 10:00 AM at JCJC Jasper County Center with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow in Bay Springs City Cemetery. Rev. Mitch Williams, Rev. Charles Duckworth, Rev. Harley Ray Milsap, and Bob McFarland will officiate. The funeral service can be viewed live stream at www.facebook.com/colonialchapelbaysprings. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home of Bay Springs is in charge of arrangements. (601) 764-2181 Parker was born November 16, 1943 in Bay Springs, MS. After graduating from Bay Springs High, his career began at Jones in 1961. He played on the 1st team led under Hall of Famer head coach, Sim Cooley. After Graduating from Jones, he later attended Mississippi College. It was there, where he met his loving wife of 49 years, Mrs. Jane Ellen White-Dykes of Mendenhall, MS. Together, they built a loving home for their three sons and devoted a lifetime to the great game of football. Parker coached at Forest, Ackerman, and Monticello; before becoming a graduate assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1972. He coached at Arkansas State from 1973-79 and at University of Richmond Virginia in 1980-81. He took a brief intermission from coaching and entered the business world and joined State Farm Insurance from 1982-86 before returning back to the sidelines as the defensive coordinator at Hinds Community College from 1987-91. While at Hinds, he helped coach five South Division and one State Championship team. He returned to his roots as Jones County Junior College Head Football Coach in 1992 and his teams posted a 92-50-1 record over his 14 years as head coach. In 1998, the Bobcats went 12-0 and were named National Champions. They won state titles in 1998 and 2002 and appeared in four bowl games. After leaving Jones following the 2005 season, he went to Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN where he was assistant coach for two years. In 2007-08 He was part-time Associate Director of Football Coaches Ministry for FCA and was a part-time scout for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football league. He became the Defensive Coordinator at Sylva-Bay Academy in Bay Springs in 2008 and became the Defensive Coordinator at Jefferson County High School in Tennessee for the 2009-10. Some of Coach Dykes’ greatest accolades include being named Coach of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, the MACJC and the All-American Football Foundation in 1998. He served as President of the National Junior Football Coaches Association from 2001-2003 and the American Community Colleges Football Coaches Association in 2004. He was elected to the NJCAA Hall of Fame and received FCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2008 he was inducted to the Mississippi College “M”-Club Sport Hall of Fame and received the Dana X Bible Outstanding Blocker Award. He has served as President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in June of this year, Coach John Smith and Justin Graves presented him the Pioneer Award for Fellowship of Christian Athletes for starting the first FCA chapter in the USA. Parker has lived a life serving the Lord, his family, and will be greatly missed by many. The incredible legacy he leaves behind can be seen through the lives of his three sons, his grandchildren, his players, and his colleagues. He was preceded in death by wife, Jane Ellen Dykes and parents, Verl Patrick Dykes and Evelyn Harris. Survivors include wife, Freida Sue Dykes; children, Verl Parker Dykes, Jr. (Dena), Rick Dykes (Brenda), and Mike Dykes (Emily); siblings, Mike Boleware (Rose) and Brenda Beasley; grandchildren, Parker Dykes, III (Jess), Amy Dykes, Ashley Dykes, Abigail Dykes, Patrick Dykes, and Jack Dykes. Pallbearers will be Rory Dale Holder, Anthony Maddox, Nathan Hardage, Harley Ray Milsap, Henry Cook, Chad Odom, and Charles Duckworth. Honorary pallbearers will be Bob Rogers, Eddie Barnett, Eddie Loper, John Sullivan, Dr. John McGraw, Coach John Smith, James Montgomery, Thomas Pitts, and Dr. Jesse Smith.   In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to MC FCA, P.O. Box 4071, Clinton, MS 39058

Re: Coach Parker Dykes

Posted by Steve 70 on July 6, 2020, 3:28 pm, in reply to "Coach Parker Dykes"