James (Jim) Parkes

James (Jim) Parkes died on December 27, 2025, in his apartment at St. John’s Meadow, Rochester, NY following several months of declining health from heart disease. He was 95.

Jim was born on March 20, 1930 in Gateshead, United Kingdom to Martha and Thomas Parkes. The family emigrated to the United States during Jim’s infancy, and he lived in Hempstead, NY during his childhood and college years.

After high school Jim attended and graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where he met Yvonne Taylor, a fellow student, whom he married in 1952. His career as an architect and planner led the couple and their two children to live in Brooklyn, Syracuse, Ithaca, Hawaii, Florida, back to Ithaca, and in 1980 on to Alaska, and back again to the Finger Lakes to settle into retirement in Trumansburg, NY where they lived for 30 years. In 2018, Jim and Yvonne moved to Rochester to live at River Edge Manor, a senior living community, where they celebrated their 70 th wedding anniversary in July 2022. Following Yvonne’s death in 2023, Jim moved to St. John’s Meadow seniors’ community where he lived the rest of his life.

Along the way, Jim earned a Master of Arts degree from Cornell University, majoring in Regional Planning. He worked as a campus planner for Cornell University, and the University of Alaska. Following retirement from the University of Alaska, Jim worked part-time on several architectural and planning projects for Egner, Neiderkorn & Associates in Ithaca, NY.

Jim volunteered for many years with the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club. As an avid hiker, he completed climbs of all 46 peaks in NY over 4,000 feet above sea level, becoming a Forty-Sixer in 1976. He also hiked across England, much of the route following the alignment of Hadrian’s Wall.

Jim helped develop the route of the Finger Lakes North Country Trail, drawing all of the trail maps for the first publication of the trail guidebook. Later in life, he served as a volunteer with the Trumansburg, NY Volunteer Fire Department, plus volunteered with the maintenance crew at Taughannock Falls State Park.

In their middle years, Jim and Yvonne traveled to Europe several times and once to Japan. They also traveled across the United States many times, usually tent- or van-camping along the way.

Jim very much enjoyed his family and friends, and respected his colleagues with whom he worked and volunteered. In the end, he knew he had lived a useful and interesting life. His son was at his bedside when he died.

Jim is survived by his son Kevin, daughter Jennifer, daughter-in-law Joanne, sister Elsie, nieces Claire and Kathy, and nephew Kreg.

The family gratefully thanks those friends who gave emotional support to Jim during the final months of his life.