Philip L. Edwards

Philip L. Edwards was born Oct. 22, 1926, in Sumter, S.C., to Richard Thomas Edwards and Louise Williams Edwards. He graduated from Conway High School in 1944 and earned a bachelor's degree in business from Davidson College in 1949. Edwards was vice president of Williams Furniture Corporation of Sumter and general manager of Williams Furniture Davidson-Georgia Pacific Corporation; he retired in 1983. He was a trustee of Davidson College from 1981 to 1992, and he earned the Davidson College Alumni Service Award. He served as a director of the National Bank of South Carolina from 1958 to 1997.

The Williams-Brice Building Physical Education Center opened in 1972 and was named to honor the bequest of Martha Williams Brice for $250,000 for a gymnasium at Coastal (as well as funds for the University of South Carolina’s football stadium and nursing school). Brice's nephews Philip Edwards and Thomas W. Edwards were instrumental in securing the gift for the university.

Edwards served on the executive committee of the Pee Dee Area Boy Scouts of America, earned the prestigious Silver Beaver Award, and was one of the first two recipients from Horry County to earn the distinction of Eagle Scout. He has been a director of the Sumter County Museum and Covenant Place, president of the Sumter Rotary Club, commissioner for the Mid-Carolina Higher Education Committee and a trustee on the Williams Brice-Edwards Foundation. He earned the Humanitarian Award from the YMCA. He was married to the late Flora McLeod Edwards. In 2006, he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest civilian honor, for his service to the state of South Carolina.

Edwards and his brother Thomas W. Edwards were named honorary founders of Coastal Carolina University in 2000.