James Malcolm McLendon was born in Marion in 1909 and died there on February 14, 2000, at the age of ninety. He received his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1935 and began practicing in Marion. He served in the Navy as a gunnery officer during World War II. He married Edna “Teenie” Miles of Marion in 1944.
Malcolm served in the State House of Representatives for twelve years, on the Marion County Council, and was for many years the Marion City Attorney and a bank director. He and his wife shared a life-long interest in the history and preservation of Marion; their legal research resulted in a book explaining the evolution of the town’s historic district. He is survived by two daughters.