Dr. James Dinkins

Dr. James Allen Dinkins, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, at Southeast Hospital.

He was born June 18, 1937, in Yuma, Tennessee, to Fred R. and Lillian Hopper Dinkins. He and Betsy L. Gateley were married Aug. 14, 1993, at First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.

He served in the Army National Guard.

He was a graduate of Trezevant High School in Tennessee. He received his undergraduate from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He attended University of Tennessee at Memphis Medical School, where he did an internship and residency. He started practicing pediatric medicine in Cape Girardeau in 1967, continuing until his retirement in 1999.

He served as a state consultant to Missouri Department of Health to improve nurseries for newborns statewide. He was a pediatric consultant to Cape Girardeau school system and Cape Girardeau County Health Department. He was a member of Physician Association at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was a fellow of American Academy of Pediatrics, a member of Cape County Medical Society and Missouri State Medical Association, AMP on staff at both hospitals, chairman of Pediatrics of both hospitals and a member of the governor's committee on youth and children state committee.

His hobbies included woodworking, genealogy and gardening.

Survivors include his wife, Betsy L. Dinkins of Cape Girardeau; three daughters, Laura Norman and Rebecca Hargrove, both of Cape Girardeau, and Lilabeth Frye of Champaign, Illinois; and eight grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Jonathan Dinkins; and a daughter and son-in-law, Laura and Curt Dye.

Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

Memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be given to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Online condolences may be made at www.fordandsonsfuneralhome.com.