[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E14-E15]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN MEMORY OF GOVERNOR JAMES BURROWS EDWARDS
_____
HON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, during Christmas week the
people of South Carolina lost a true patriot with the death of Doctor
James B. Edwards of Mount Pleasant. The following obituary highlights
his love and affection for his devoted family and community.
James Burrows Edwards
obituary
James Burrows Edwards Mt. Pleasant--James Burrows Edwards,
DMD, 87, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, died Friday,
December 26, 2014. Jim was born June 24, 1927, in Hawthorne,
Florida to the late O.M. and Bertie Ray Edwards. Both parents
were school teachers, careers which led them to St. Andrews,
South Carolina, in 1935 and Mt. Pleasant in 1937.
As a boy in Mt. Pleasant, Jim spent his spare time at Ft.
Moultrie, home of the 263rd Coast Artillery, and acquired a
lifelong love of the military and life at sea. Jim graduated
from Moultrie High School in June 1944, and took a job with
the Army Transportation Corps as a deck hand on an L-78 tug
boat. Though only 17 years old, he joined the Merchant
Marines in December 1944. Jim was assigned to the Dogwood, a
Liberty Ship converted to a hospital ship transporting
wounded servicemen home from Europe. Eventually he also
served on the U.S.A.T. Bridgeport, the George Washington, and
the Larkspur. Jim worked his way through the ranks from
ordinary seaman to an officer by age 19, licensed to pilot
ships transporting ``any tonnage on any water in the world.''
In 1947, Jim began studies at the College of Charleston,
while also working as a night officer on ships as a member of
the Master, Mates and Pilots Association. During summers, he
remained active in seafaring trade, delivering coal to France
and England, granite for the Santee Cooper Dam, and general
cargo to ports throughout the Caribbean and South America.
Jim graduated from the College of Charleston in 1951,
married Ann Darlington, his childhood sweetheart, and entered
dental school at the University of Louisville. Upon
graduation, he served two years on active duty with the U.S.
Navy in Chincoteague, Virginia, as a general dentist. He
would remain active in the United States Naval Reserve until
1967, retiring as a lieutenant commander.
After completing graduate medical training at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1958 and a residency at Henry
Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, Jim pursued his
dream to return to Charleston, establishing his practice in
Oral and Maxillofacial surgery in 1960.
While building a thriving practice, Jim entered the
political arena, serving six years as the Charleston County
Republican Party chairman. An unsuccessful bid for the United
States Congress in 1971 was soon followed by his election to
the South Carolina State Senate in 1972. Two years later, Jim
was elected Governor of South Carolina--the state's first
Republican Governor since reconstruction. Jim served as
governor from 1975 to 1979, returning briefly to his oral
surgery practice in Charleston.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Jim as Secretary
of the United States Department of Energy, a position he held
until November 1982, when he was called as president of the
Medical University of South Carolina. Jim served as president
of MUSC for 17 years, retiring in 2000. As president
emeritus, Jim actively continued fundraising for the MUSC
Health Sciences Foundation until 2014.
Among numerous civic and academic honors, Jim was granted
the Order of the Palmetto for his public service to the State
of South Carolina, and is an inductee into the South Carolina
Hall of Fame. He served on the Board of Directors of the
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy
Donnelly Foundation, SCANA, South Carolina National Bank,
Encyclopedia Brittanica, Waste Management, Chemical Waste
Management, J. P. Stevens, Brendles, IMO Delaval, Inc.,
Philips Petroleum, National Data Corporation, Burris Chemical
Co., the W. M. Benton Foundation, the MUSC Health Sciences
Foundation, and the Communications Satellite Corporation
(COMSAT).
Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Ann; his
son, James B. Edwards, Jr. and his wife, Jenny, of Columbia;
his daughter, Catharine E. Wingate, and her husband, Ken, of
Columbia; grandchildren, Miriam Wingate Ashworth, K. Bryan
Wingate, Jr., Ansley Darlington Edwards, James B. Edwards,
III, Catharine Paxson Wingate, and Hellen Tucker Edwards; one
great-grandchild, Eliza Ann Wingate, and numerous nephews and
nieces. In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death
by his sister, Josephine E. Pinckney, his brother, Dr. Morton
Thomas Edwards, his sisters, Ada Frances E. Melchers and Jane
Ann E. Varn.
Visitation will be from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. on Sunday,
December 28, 2014 at St. Luke's Chapel, on the Campus of the
Medical University of South Carolina. The funeral service
will be conducted at St. Philip's Church at 1:00 p.m. on
Monday, December 29, 2014 by The Rt. Rev'd. Dr. C. FitzSimons
Allison. Interment will follow in the churchyard of Christ
Church, Mt. Pleasant, after which the family will receive
visitors in the parish hall of Christ Church.
The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that memorials be
made to the MUSC Foundation for the College of Nursing or for
the College of Dental Medicine. (MUSC Foundation, 18 Bee
Street, Charleston, SC 29425).
Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr Inc., Mount Pleasant Chapel.
A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting our
website at www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at
www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston.
The Lexington County Chronicle published an inspiring tribute which
reflects the extraordinary impact of Lexington County voters in 1974
where the county's victory margin of 10,433 was a large majority of the
statewide victory margin of 17,477.
As an indication of the family's appreciation of Lexington County,
its Member of Congress, Joe Wilson, was selected to be an Honorary Pall
Bearer.
Former S.C. Gov. James Edwards Succumbs to Stroke
(By Hal Millard)
James B. Edwards, the state's first GOP governor since
Reconstruction, has died.
He was 87.
Edwards, a dentist by trade who in 1974 became the first
Republican governor in South Carolina since 1876, died Dec.
26 at his Mount Pleasant home from complications caused by a
stroke.
Politicians throughout the state mourned his passing.
Expressing her sympathy, Gov. Nikki Haley wrote on Facebook
that Edwards ``appreciated the opportunities and challenges
of this office.''
[[Page E15]]
``Governor Edwards always offered kind words of support and
encouragement--and we are forever grateful for his
friendship,'' Haley wrote. ``Michael and I are deeply
saddened by the passing of Governor Edwards, whose love for
South Carolina inspired him to serve until his last day . .
.''
GOP Congressman Joe Wilson of Springdale echoed those
sentiments and added, ``I am grateful to have had a lifetime
of working with Dr. Jim Edwards, and the honor of knowing his
wife Anne, daughter Cathy, and son Jim. Dr. Edwards was a
tireless stalwart for conservative limited government to
expand freedom.
``In high school, I would visit his dental office for
Goldwater materials, in his capacity as Charleston County
Republican Chairman,'' Wilson continued. ``In 1974, he
courageously ran and was elected as South Carolina's first
Republican governor. At that time, I worked with him on the
State Development Board, where he recruited Michelin Tire
Corporation to produce job opportunities for our citizens. I
was honored to serve him in the visionary Reagan
Administration as Deputy General Counsel as he achieved
success in deregulation as Secretary of Energy.
Wilson also hailed Edwards' 17-year tenure as president of
the Medical University of South Carolina.
``His return to Charleston as president of the Medical
University of South Carolina resulted in MUSC becoming
recognized for world-class universities,'' Wilson said.
``South Carolina has lost a Southern Gentleman, devoted dad
and grandfather, who has made a difference as a key architect
for a political revolution.''
Wilson noted that Edwards' groundbreaking win in 1974 was a
precursor to the current Republican dominance in the Deep
South.
``Dr Edwards' vision of an inclusive Republican Party came
to fulfillment [in December] with the U.S. Senate victory in
Louisiana, from his start with no elected statewide
Republican officials in the five-state Deep South, and now
all statewide officials are Republicans,'' Wilson said.
Edwards became governor amid the turmoil of the Watergate
years and was one of the few GOP bright spots in an election
year in which Democrats dominated. A long-shot candidate who
had previously served two years as a state senator from
Charleston County, Edwards defeated Gen. William Westmoreland
in the GOP primary, then upset long-time Democratic
Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn in the general
election.
Edwards served in an era when governors were prohibited
from serving consecutive terms. Following his term as
governor, Edwards was nominated as President Ronald Reagan's
Energy Secretary; serving two years in that role before
resigning to become president of MUSC.
____________________