James C. McLeod, Jr. was born August 9, 1931, in Florence, SC to parents Floramay Holliday McLeod and Dr. James Carlisle McLeod. In 1953, he received his B.S. from the University of North Carolina, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, served as vice president of the student body and received the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Order of the Holy Grail. He received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1959.
From 1960 until his retirement in 1998, he practiced law with Willcox, McLeod, Buyck & Williams Law Firm.
Jim was a member of the American Bar Association, SC Bar and the Florence County Bar. He was a member of the Fifth Judicial Conference and was appointed to the SC Ethics Committee by the governor of South Carolina. He received the first Ralph King Anderson, Jr. Award by the Florence County Bar in 1998.
For more than 50 years, he served as a trustee for McLeod Health. He was chairman of the Salvation Army board and president of the Florence Kiwanis Club. He also served on the boards of the Mental Health Association, the United Fund, the McLeod Hospice, NBSC Community, Hollings Cancer Center Community and the Francis Marion Foundation.
James C. McLeod, Jr. died on May 18, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Octavia Phillips McLeod; his children, George H. McLeod, II (Alice) and Octavia M. Barrett (Russell); his grandchildren, Henry R. Barrett, Jr. and O. Margaret M. Barrett; and a sister, Florence M. Ervin.