Obituary for James "Jim" Oscroft Wilkes
James "Jim" Oscroft Wilkes passed away at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan on Sunday, December 6, 2020 after battling to recover from heart surgery. He was 88 years old. Jim was born on January 24, 1932 in Southampton, England, the only child of Colin and Marion (née Oscroft) Wilkes and the devoted husband of Mary Ann Wilkes (née Gibson).
Jim spent much of his childhood with his grandmother in Shropshire during the Second World War, having neither water nor electricity. Shropshire always maintained a special place in his heart. He later returned to Southampton to attend Taunton’s Grammar School and was later admitted to Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. It was at Emmanuel that Jim both continued his organ studies and discovered his passion for chemical engineering.
Jim obtained his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Emmanuel College in 1955. The English-Speaking Union awarded him a King George VI Memorial Fellowship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, from which he received a master's degree in 1956 and a PhD in 1963, also in the field of chemical engineering. As a student, Jim’s pioneering spirit led him to take the very first digital-computing course offered at the University of Michigan. This course had a lasting effect on Jim’s career and led to future research interests in numerical methods, polymer processing, and computational fluid mechanics.
Jim was on the faculty at Cambridge from 1956 to 1960, and subsequently at the University of Michigan from 1960 to 2000. At Michigan, he also served as Department Chairman from 1971 to 1977 and Assistant Dean for Admissions in the College of Engineering from 1990 to 1995. Jim, along with Brice Carnahan, became the seminal architects of curriculum to educate young engineering students about digital computing. He cared deeply about education and his students and was recognized for his commitment to teaching in 1989 when he was named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. Jim also helped to establish a strong international graduate program at the Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, where he taught for 16 years. In December 2007, he was elected a Bye-Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. Professor Wilkes influenced thousands of undergraduate students and mentored over 20 PhD students, many remaining lifelong friends.
Jim was an accomplished organist and writer who received his organ-performance diploma, Associate of the Trinity College of Music (London), in 1951, and his Service-Playing Certificate from the American Guild of Organists in 1981. He is the author of Pipe Organs of Ann Arbor (1995) and was known to play at friend’s weddings—including his own. Jim was fascinated by his grandfather’s incomplete manuscript, Place-Names of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and devoted his later years to its completion. As a result, he was named an Honorary Life Member of the English Place-Name Society. Jim’s professional publications include A Century of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan (2002), and co-author of Applied Numerical Methods (Wiley, 1969), Digital Computing and Numerical Methods (Wiley, 1973), and Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers with Microfluidics, CFD, and COMSOL Multiphysics 5 (Pearson, 2018), a widely used textbook.
Jim met the love of his life, Mary Ann Gibson, shortly after arriving in Ann Arbor at a student church group. They were married at St. Andrews church on August 18, 1956 and honeymooned on a 4-week excursion hiking the American West. Many more outdoor adventures followed in places like North Wales, New Zealand, and Australia. They were avid hikers with a special love for Big Bend National Park. Jim and Mary Ann were devoted to each other and recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary with a “Happy Hour” toast. Jim loved gardening and spent summers ensuring that his formal English garden was beautiful and perfectly maintained.
Friends and colleagues cherished Jim for his kindness, sense of humour, courage, and grace. He stayed active throughout his retirement by attending chemical engineering and university functions, teaching lectures, tending to loved ones, and hosting candlelit dinner parties. Whether grocery shopping or going to the bank, many in the local community looked forward to meeting up and talking with him.
Jim Wilkes led an amazing life and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his dear wife, Mary Ann.
A Memorial event will be held to remember Jim when it is safe to do so.
Donations in Jim’s honor may be made to The James O. Wilkes Undergraduate Scholarship at the University of Michigan: https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/find/#!/give/basket/fund/570145
Jim spent much of his childhood with his grandmother in Shropshire during the Second World War, having neither water nor electricity. Shropshire always maintained a special place in his heart. He later returned to Southampton to attend Taunton’s Grammar School and was later admitted to Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. It was at Emmanuel that Jim both continued his organ studies and discovered his passion for chemical engineering.
Jim obtained his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Emmanuel College in 1955. The English-Speaking Union awarded him a King George VI Memorial Fellowship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, from which he received a master's degree in 1956 and a PhD in 1963, also in the field of chemical engineering. As a student, Jim’s pioneering spirit led him to take the very first digital-computing course offered at the University of Michigan. This course had a lasting effect on Jim’s career and led to future research interests in numerical methods, polymer processing, and computational fluid mechanics.
Jim was on the faculty at Cambridge from 1956 to 1960, and subsequently at the University of Michigan from 1960 to 2000. At Michigan, he also served as Department Chairman from 1971 to 1977 and Assistant Dean for Admissions in the College of Engineering from 1990 to 1995. Jim, along with Brice Carnahan, became the seminal architects of curriculum to educate young engineering students about digital computing. He cared deeply about education and his students and was recognized for his commitment to teaching in 1989 when he was named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. Jim also helped to establish a strong international graduate program at the Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, where he taught for 16 years. In December 2007, he was elected a Bye-Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. Professor Wilkes influenced thousands of undergraduate students and mentored over 20 PhD students, many remaining lifelong friends.
Jim was an accomplished organist and writer who received his organ-performance diploma, Associate of the Trinity College of Music (London), in 1951, and his Service-Playing Certificate from the American Guild of Organists in 1981. He is the author of Pipe Organs of Ann Arbor (1995) and was known to play at friend’s weddings—including his own. Jim was fascinated by his grandfather’s incomplete manuscript, Place-Names of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and devoted his later years to its completion. As a result, he was named an Honorary Life Member of the English Place-Name Society. Jim’s professional publications include A Century of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan (2002), and co-author of Applied Numerical Methods (Wiley, 1969), Digital Computing and Numerical Methods (Wiley, 1973), and Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers with Microfluidics, CFD, and COMSOL Multiphysics 5 (Pearson, 2018), a widely used textbook.
Jim met the love of his life, Mary Ann Gibson, shortly after arriving in Ann Arbor at a student church group. They were married at St. Andrews church on August 18, 1956 and honeymooned on a 4-week excursion hiking the American West. Many more outdoor adventures followed in places like North Wales, New Zealand, and Australia. They were avid hikers with a special love for Big Bend National Park. Jim and Mary Ann were devoted to each other and recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary with a “Happy Hour” toast. Jim loved gardening and spent summers ensuring that his formal English garden was beautiful and perfectly maintained.
Friends and colleagues cherished Jim for his kindness, sense of humour, courage, and grace. He stayed active throughout his retirement by attending chemical engineering and university functions, teaching lectures, tending to loved ones, and hosting candlelit dinner parties. Whether grocery shopping or going to the bank, many in the local community looked forward to meeting up and talking with him.
Jim Wilkes led an amazing life and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his dear wife, Mary Ann.
A Memorial event will be held to remember Jim when it is safe to do so.
Donations in Jim’s honor may be made to The James O. Wilkes Undergraduate Scholarship at the University of Michigan: https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/find/#!/give/basket/fund/570145