T. Eston Marchant, Jr. was born on December 9, 1920, and grew up in Columbia. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. He enlisted in the Marines when the United States entered World War II and fought in the Pacific Theatre, rising to the rank of Captain. When he returned home, he practiced law and began a long career in the S.C. National Guard.
Marchant loved the University of South Carolina and was elected to its Board of Trustees in 1965. In 1970, he became chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University and continued serving as chairman until 1979, when he was elected Adjutant General, during which time he also served as national president of the Adjutant Generals Association of the United States. He retired in 1994. The S.C. National Guard Headquarters in Columbia is named in his honor.
Major General Marchant was active in state and community affairs, serving as a municipal judge, president of the Richland County Bar Association and as a member of The Citadel Board of Visitors, among other activities. He loved his country and his state and was twice awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor, once by Gov. John C. West and a second time by Gov. Carroll Campbell.
He had a notable sense of humor, told a great story, loved a good joke and had an infectious laugh you could recognize across a room. He was a charmer, who loved people — and they loved him back. His friends were legion.
He is survived by his wife, Carolina B. Marchant; four children, Dr. T. Eston Marchant III, Judge Bristow Marchant, Carolina Marchant Borucki, and Nancy Marchant Harris; and nine grandchildren, Bristow Marchant, Jr., Madison Marchant, Sallie Marchant, Robert “Rob” Borucki, Jr., Davis Borucki, Evelyn Ann Borucki, Carolina Harris, Britt Harris, and Marchant Harris.