William Carrington Edmunds, Sr.

William Carrington Edmunds, Sr. died Thursday, February 1, 2024. Mr. Edmunds was born September 12, 1938 in Florence, SC and was the son of the late Paul Carrington Edmunds, III and Laurie Coleman Marks and stepson to Louise Easley Edmunds (Paul) and Max C. Marks (Laurie). He was predeceased by his loving wife of 61 years, Jo Ann Hill Edmunds. Mr. Edmunds attended Woodberry Forest School and graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1956. For college, he attended Clemson University and Wofford College where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order. In 1961, he married Jo Ann and joined his stepfather, Max Marks, and good friends, Jack Cobb & Jamie Cobb, at Greenwald’s Men’s Clothing Store in downtown Spartanburg. He saw Greenwald’s through growth and expansion into a second store in the Hillcrest Shopping Center. In 1975, he joined Greir & Company and later Palm Beach Men’s Clothing as Southeast Regional Sales Director. With a desire to stay closer to his family, he entered the real estate business with BuCar Properties and later, Edmunds & Company. In 1987, he joined Johnson Development Associates and oversaw leasing for the company’s retails centers. Two of his prouder accomplishments at Johnson Development were the recruitment of The Fresh Market grocery store to Spartanburg in its original location at Market Square on Fernwood Drive and the redevelopment of the former Crystal Springs Apartments in Spartanburg to what is now known as the Carrington subdivision named in his honor. He is grateful for his time at Johnson Development which concluded with his retirement in 2014 and for his friendship with George Dean Johnson, Jr. that afforded him the opportunities to make those accomplishments and others during his 27-year tenure at JDA. He was a lifelong member of The Episcopal Church of the Advent where he was a proud Eagle Scout in Troop 1 as a teenager. Mr. Edmunds is survived by his three children, William Carrington Edmunds, Jr., Sarah Hillary Edmunds, and Coleman Marks Edmunds. He is further survived by his brother-in-law, John Maxwell Hill and his wife Myra Hodges Hill, his cousin and life-long best friend, W. Burnham Uhler and his half siblings: Louise Gilmer Edmunds, Paula Edmunds Edington, Henry Hurt Edmunds, and Bee Edmunds Espy. He was predeceased by his half-sister, Margaret Edmunds. A celebration of life will be held at 2:00pm on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at The Episcopal Church of the Advent led by The Reverend Christie Walton and The Reverend Paula Griffin. A reception at The Piedmont Club will follow. A private committal will be held at Oakwood Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers will be: John Murphy Armstrong, John Shackelford Chapman, James McCalister Dunbar, Claude Swanson Finney, III, James Sidney Fulmer, John Howard Henderson, George Dean Johnson, Stewart Heath Johnson, Elford Hamilton Morgan, Duras Paul Rudisill, George Thomas Russell, William Burnham Uhler, and Quenton Michael Wood. The family would like to thank White Oak Independent Living and The Upstate Community Hospice House/Agape Hospice for caring for him at the end of his life. In honor of Mr. Edmunds, memorial contributions may be made to The Advent Foundation, 141 Advent Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302; St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic, 162 N. Dean Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302; or The Spartanburg Humane Society, 150 Dexter Road, Spartanburg, SC 29303.