James "Jim" Harris Purks, Iii

James Harris Purks III, whose life was devoted to his fellow man, his church, his community, and his country, died in Atlanta on February 20, 2018. Jim, as he was known by so many, was born August 21, 1936, in Atlanta, the son of James Harris Purks, Jr., and Mary Brown Purks. He is survived by his fraternal cousins Robert Kemper Purks of Falls Church, Virginia, and Mary McMillan Mancin of Bartow, Georgia; and his maternal cousin Jane Bowyer of Dunnellon, Florida. After graduating from Trinity School in New York City, where his family had moved, Jim graduated from the University of North Carolina magna cum laude, where he was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He obtained a master's degree in international studies from Stanford University and pursued additional study at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. Jim became a reporter for the Associated Press covering the civil rights movement in Alabama. In this role, Jim came into contact with civil rights leaders and is pictured with the Reverends Dr....