[6] By age 14, Dykes was a master brick mason, which peaked his interest in studying architecture.
[6] His father was skeptical he could work as an architect because of discrimination and racism, and instead supported his religious studies.
[5] In the summer of 1925, he took a evening drafting class at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.
[6] In March 1951 Dykes started teaching vocational work as an instructor of masonry at Austin High School in Knoxville.
[6] During this time he would design buildings, and he would submit the plans to review and sign off on to the licensed architect in the Division of Missions, Norman Byar.
[6][11] Dykes died on August 4, 1991 in his home in Knoxville, and he was buried at Sherwood Memorial Gardens in Alcoa, Tennessee.