E. Lloyd Willcox was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1904. His educational path carried him to the University of North Carolina from which he graduated in 1926 and then to the University of South Carolina School of Law where he received an LL.B. in 1929.
Early in his life, he acquired the nickname of “Student,” which was recognition of his scholarly activities and of the admiration and esteem in which he was held by his many friends and admirers. His talent for leadership and participation in worthwhile activities reflected an inheritance from his father, the late Frederick L. Willcox, president of the SC Bar in 1925, and his grandfather, Jerome P. Chase, who was one of the organizers and founders of the City of Florence, incorporated in 1890 and served as its first mayor.
In Charleston, South Carolina, where he resided, he was an active member of Grace Episcopal Church for which he served for over 50 years as its delegate to the meetings of the Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. During these years he served as the president of the South Carolina Society. His active memberships included: the Saint Andrews Society, the Carolina Yacht Club, Charleston Ancient Artillery Society, South Carolina Historical Society, the Charleston Club, the Old Town Club, trustee of the Star Gospel Mission, Charleston Kiwanis Club, and the Saint Cecelia Society.
In his profession as a member of the Charleston Bar, he was widely known and recognized as a superb lawyer of absolute integrity who knew the law, believed in the rule of law, and practiced his beliefs to the fulfillment of those worthy ends. The South Carolina Bar and the American Bar Association counted him among its members, and lawyers everywhere counted him as among the best of their profession.
He was first married to the late Dorothy Davies Willcox and then to the late Josephine Mattison Willcox. He is survived by his stepsons, William Mattison of Singapore and Michael Mattison of Northport, Alabama, and by his nieces and nephews: Penelope Davis of Charleston; Hugh L. Willcox, Jr., and Julia Willcox Buyck of Florence.