A graveside service for Edward Leonell Pender, Jr. will be conducted February 17, 2024, at Union Presbyterian Church, State Highway 377 near Lane, SC at 3:00 PM with a reception immediately following.

The son of Edward L. and Kathryn Swindler Pender, Eddie was born in Charleston, SC on October 14, 1942, was a graduate of Dreher High School, the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) and Schiff Scoutt Reservation (Mendham, NJ). After serving in the Professional Service of the Boy Scouts of America for seven years, he was employed as a national sales representative by Colonial Rubber Company and Cooper Tire and Rubber Company from which he retired in 2006.

A member of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, he was a Deacon and attended the Men's Bible Class. A Master Mason, he was a Past Master of Inglesby Lodge #267 in Greeleyville, SC and was a member of both the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Additional memberships were in the Robert Burns Society, the St. Andrews Society, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Scottish Heritage USA, the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Blue Ridge and Southern Rubber Groups.

Family and friends will remember Eddie for his quick wit, love of golf and hunting, and ability often to "save the day" with his problem solving (including prom dress shopping and furniture hauling). He was a voracious reader, drawn particularly to stories of the West and the outdoors, especially ones penned by Southern authors such as Archibald Rutledge. Eddie was a student of grammar, all things Scottish and famous for his barbeque chicken, blackberry cobbler and grits. "Grandaddy" was also known to thrill his grandchildren with an outstanding impersonation of Donald Duck and his ability to build an exceptional marshmallow roasting fire.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years Faye James Pender, daughter Eliza Legare Pender Foster and her husband, the Reverend Edward Jay Foster, Jr., daughter Margaret Ellen Pender, grandsons Ethan James Foster and Blake Edward Foster, granddaughter Abbey Margaret Foster and sister Virginia Pender Riddle.

In addition to the graveside service, the family will also receive friends Friday, February 16, 4:30-6:00 PM at Anchor Investment Management, 3205 Devine Street, Columbia, SC and Saturday, February 17, 9:30-11:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church, 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201 in Jackson Hall.

With deep gratitude, the family extends a special thank you to the nursing staff of Greenway at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community and the Prisma Health Hospice team for their extraordinary care of Eddie in his final months.

Memorials may be sent to: First Presbyterian Deacons Fund (1324 Marion Street, Columbia SC 29201); Reformed University Fellowship (PO Box 890004, Charlotte, NC 28289-0004); Union Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund (4501 SC-377, Salters, SC 29590); or The Sounds of Grace ( www.thesoundsofgrace.com ); 28 Palmer Drive, Sumter, SC 29150).

Williamsburg Funeral Home, Kingstree, SC, is assisting the family. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, Columbia, SC, is posting this obituary as a courtesy.