WHEELING — James H. Paige III was a high school and college basketball standout. He was a community leader who worked to better life for children in the neighborhood in which he grew up. He was a trailblazer in politics, at one time holding the distinction of being the youngest state banking commissioner in America. And the late-President George H.W. Bush honored him as a “Point of Light” for the nation.

The Wheeling resident also was a father, a mentor, and a friend to everyone he met. His smile lit up a room, and his easy-going personality and thoughtful approach to dealing with others set him apart from many of his peers.

Paige died Wednesday. He was 60.

His life was filled with milestones and accomplishments, ranging from his education to his athletic achievements to his professional advancement and, most importantly, his family. One of his biggest accomplishments took place right here in Wheeling with the creation of the James Paige Learning Center, which was located in the East Wheeling neighborhood where he and his sisters grew up.

The center was a community effort to refurbish a neglected building on Lind Street and provide youngsters a place to study and learn after school and on weekends. The result was well-received by the community, with scores of volunteers lending a hand. Realizing the importance education played in his life, Paige went on to develop three additional learning centers throughout the state.

Paige’s early years were shaped at Wheeling Country Day School. He would go to Wheeling Park High School, where he graduated with honors. Along with his academic prowess, his skills on the hardcourt were legendary. During his senior year, he was named to West Virginia’s All-State basketball squad.

He continued as a basketball standout at Bethany College where he scored 1,141 points for the Bison over his four years there. In 1982, he was chosen as the President’s Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He graduated with a degree in social work, and then went on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a master’s degree in Public Administration.

His next stop was at the West Virginia University College of Law, as he earned his law degree in 1987. He worked as a trust officer at the Pittsburgh National Bank when then-West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton tapped him for the position of state banking commissioner. Paige was 28 at the time and was the youngest person in the country to hold such a position.

He later went on to be Caperton’s tax commissioner. Wheeling native Robin Capehart, who succeeded Paige in that office, said Paige stayed on for a few months as a consultant during the beginning of the Underwood Administration, and that the two of them became fast friends.

“James was such a good guy, just a genuine person, the kind of person you meet and immediately take a liking to,” Capehart said. “I’ve never met a more personable and likeable person. He always had a smile on his face, he always was interested in what you were doing and what was going on in your life. He was very gracious and helpful to me when I became tax commissioner.”

Despite his duties in Charleston, Paige never forgot Wheeling and his childhood friends. He and the late Perry Galloway co-founded the annual Elks Basketball Tournament at the Elks Playground in East Wheeling as a way to show at-risk youth from the region that there was a way to a better life through sports and education.

Paige’s good works did not go unnoticed. In 1992, he was honored by President Bush as one of only 21 President’s Points of Light winners. In 1996, he received a National Service Award for “community service activities that help strengthen the family.”

Owens Brown, president of the West Virginia chapter of the NAACP, said “It’s a tragedy to lose a person with so much promise and really a trailblazer, not just for Black West Virginians but all West Virginians. He was the youngest banking commissioner in the country and became a significant role model in the African-American community and actually inspired so many others to try to know what is possible through education.

“I’m very saddened that he has been taken away from us at such an early age. I wish we could have helped him more in his time of need.”

Paige is survived by his son, three sisters and a grandson on the way.

Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Friday. Aug. 27, at Altmeyer Funeral Home, 14th and Eoff street, Wheeling. Friends will then be received from 11 a.m. until time of service at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28 at Macedonia Baptist Church, 105 12th St., Wheeling.