Funeral service for Mr. James Kirk Bankston, 49, of Hillsboro, will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Olive M.B. Church in Hillsboro with the Rev. James Allen officiating. Interment will follow in Elliott’s Family Cemetery. Public viewing will be today from 2-7 and Friday from 10-7 at the funeral home.
James Kirk Bankston was born October 18, 1965, in Hobart, Oklahoma, to the late John Kirk Bankston and Ceola Marie Post Bankston. He departed this life on September 13, 2015, at his residence. He confessed and gave his life to Jesus Christ at an early age and continued his faith walk throughout his life.
James grew up in a military home and his family spent early years at Minot Air Force Base, Minot, North Dakota. In 1975, the family moved to Hillsboro where he attended Tennessee Valley Junior High School and East Lawrence High School. After graduating in 1983, he continued his education at National Career College followed by Alabama A&M University. James mastered computers and electronics and continuously explored new innovation for their development. Pursuing his passion, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1990, where he began his career as the Senior UNIX Administrator for the “Atlanta Journal — Constitution.” While living in Georgia, James was also chosen as one of the “Top Bachelors of 2004” by “Ebony” magazine. James loved his family and eventually decided to relocate and settle in Hillsboro.
James had a heart of gold, an explosive sense of humor and a genuine personality that touched everyone around him.
James was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Gregory Hurd of Lawton, Oklahoma.
James leaves to cherish his memory: two sisters, Beverly Bankston, of Decatur, and Sharon Thomas, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; four nieces, Brittany Bankston, of Decatur, Whitley Bankston, of Madison, LaShawndria Stanback, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Gregina Hurd, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; two nephews, Sean Stanback, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Wayne Stanback, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as well as many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and dear friends.
