James Harold Fyke

Longtime public servant and Old Hickory native James H. “Jim” Fyke, 78, once described as the “nicest man in the world,” passed away on June 20, 2017, following a lengthy battle with cancer.He was the son of Thomas Harold Fyke and Mary Louise Dillard Fyke. He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Becky, daughter Claire Purcell (Richard), daughter Rebecca Bryant (Danny), son Ryan Malloy (Jesi), and grandchildren Kacey Purcell, Joshua, Andrew, Pax and Madeline Bryant, and Adalyn, Eliana and Brynna Malloy. Deceased brother Jere Frey, sister-in-law Margie Frey and nephews Terry and Michael Frey of Greenville, NC.Born in Old Hickory, Fyke attended DuPont High School in the late 1950s, and later graduated from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University with a degree in business management. Despite the degree, Fyke followed his passion for recreation and sports, becoming the first full-time sports administrator for Nashville in 1964.Fyke spent 40 years with Metro, the last 25 of which were as director of the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation. He also served as state commissioner of Environment and Conservation from 2005–2008 Fyke, affectionately known as “Fykey” to close friends and family, was devoted to his family and especially his grandchildren. After family, he had a lifelong love of sports. In true reflection of his kind nature, Fyke was a loyal fan whether his team was winning or losing. Although he always rooted for the Braves, Vanderbilt, the Titans and the Predators (a love he shared with his wife), his number one team was Overton High School. For four years he rarely missed a game, in any sport, when his granddaughter Kacey was a cheerleader.He was an enthusiastic golfer and in addition to a standing Saturday morning game at Harpeth Hills, could be spotted playing a public course on any pretty day year-round. Fyke was also a regular on Friday nights at McCabe Pub, near McCabe Golf Course, for a group dinner that always included family and friends.Among his myriad accomplishments were the $18 million face-lift for the Parthenon in 2001, orchestrating the land swap with HCA that made the Centennial Sportsplex possible, overseeing the single largest donation of land to Metro from the Al Beaman family, and increasing the number of Metro parks from 57 to 100 and along the way nearly doubling the total acreage, including the 800-acre Shelby Bottoms park and greenway system. Fyke also played a key role in finding a new home for the Nashville Sounds at First Tennessee Park.He was a go-to man for nearly every one of Metro’s mayors, including Richard Fulton, BillBoner, Phil Bredesen, Bill Purcell and Karl Dean.Fulton said naming Fyke as Parks director was one of the “easiest and best decisions I made as mayor.” Dean once described him as “one of the most effective, popular and influential department heads in the city.” Bredesen said he was the “model for what a great public employee should be.”Almost immediately upon retirement from Metro, he was recruited by his old boss, Bredesen, then governor, to serve as deputy commissioner of the state Department of Environment and Conservation in 2003, and in 2005 as commissioner of the department.Fyke’s impact was quickly felt on the state level, just as it was for Metro. Among his accomplishments for all Tennesseans were the establishment of the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund to protect nearly 40,000 acres, and oversight of the $82 million investment into the North Cumberland Plateau (the largest in state history), which involved partnering with The Nature Conservancy and two timber companies to protect another 124,000 acres. More recently, Fyke was presented a lifetime achievement award by the Metropolitan Historical Commission of Nashville and Davidson County, and in 2015, Metro Parks’ headquarters in Centennial Park was named after him.In addition to his parks and recreation work, Fyke was active in historic preservation efforts, including the rehabilitation of Two Rivers Mansion, creating a plan for Fort Negley and the master plan for Warner Parks.Perpetually active in civic affairs, he served on several boards, including the TVA Regional Stewardship Council, Nashville Sports Council, Nashville Predators Foundation and Charles Davis Foundation.Visitation will be held on Friday, June 23 at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM and again from 4:00 PM -- 8:00 PM. A second visitation will be held Saturday, June 24 from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Christ Church, 15354 Old Hickory Boulevard.Funeral service will be begin at 1:00 PM at Christ Church, 15354 Old Hickory Boulevard, committal following at Woodlawn Memorial ParkPallbearers are members of the Tennessee State Park Honor Guard.Honorary Pallbearers are: Gov. Phil Bredesen, Mayor Richard Fulton, Mayor Bill Boner, Mayor Bill Purcell, Mayor Karl Dean, Mayor Megan Barry; Tommy Lynch, Janet Frazier, Shain Dennison, Kevin Forte, John Holmes and all past and current employees of the Metro Department of Parks and Recreation; past and current members of the Board of Parks and Recreation; Andy Lyon, Philisa Bennett and past and current employees of the Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment; Ronnie Steine, Charlie Fentress, Carney Patterson and all past and current members of the Metropolitan Council; Rich Riebeling, Gene Nolan, Diane Treadway, Larry Atema and past and current employees of the Metro Department of Finance; Tom Andrews, Joe Biddle, Arnett Bodenhamer, Charlie Cardwell, Joe Casey, Benji Cook, May Dean Eberling, Carol Etherington, Stan Fossick, Dave Goetz, Doug Hall, Jenny Hannon, Sean Henry, Dick Horton, Susan and Bill Huggins, Don Jones, David Owenby, Jimmy Rager, Sylvia Rappaport, Ann Roberts, Tim Schwartz, Boots Scott, Bing Sisk, Paul Sloan, Reese Smith, Larry, Brandt and Haymes Snedeker, Ryan Swindell, Charlie Tate, Katy Varney, Frank, Tim and Chris Ward, Jim Webb, Bill Whitson and the Nashville Fantasy Football League Team Owners.Memorial donations can be made to the James H. Fyke Municipal Amateur Championship Scholarship Fund c/o Ms. Janet Frazier, Metropolitan Parks and Recreation Department, 511 Oman Street, Nashville, TN 37203.