Former state senator Robert Scarborough dies at 79

Former state lawmaker Robert B. Scarborough, who served during the Democrats' heyday in the 1960s and early '70s before the rise of the Republican Party in South Carolina, died Friday after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 79.

Scarborough, whose late father, Yancey W. Scarborough, served in the House from 1950-54 and whose son, Rep. Wallace Scarborough, continues to serve in the House after being seated as a Republican in 2000, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1962 and served until 1968, when he was elected to the state Senate.

Robert Scarborough served one term, then was defeated by Republican Jim Edwards in 1972, who went on to become the state's first GOP governor since Reconstruction.

"I was crazy about Bobby," Edwards said. "We went to a lot of gatherings together and had a lot of fun. I regretted that I had him as an opponent. It was not about him or me though. It was a battle between a declining Democratic Party and a rising Republican Party. He was a good, patriotic American and did a great deal for the community.

"We were friends before (I ran against him) ... and I think we became closer friends as the years went by after the election. If all the political leaders took their victories and defeats as Bobby did, then the game of politics would be a lot more pleasant than it is today," the former governor said. "Bobby will be missed."

Former state Rep. George Campsen, whose son, Chip Campsen, is a former House representative and now state senator, called Scarborough a "fine person."

George Campsen, who served as a Democrat in the House from 1959-64 before becoming co-chairman of Republican Barry Goldwater's bid for the presidency, was one year behind Scarborough at The Citadel, where Scarborough graduated in 1950.

"He was a conservative and so was I, but the only elective process back then was the Democratic primary," Campsen said. "He stood for sound governmental principles, and I think he had an excellent reputation throughout the General Assembly."

Campsen can relate to what the Scarborough family went through; his wife died in January after suffering from Alzheimer's.

"It's a terrible disease," he said. "She died in increments, and the same thing (happened) to Bobby."

Leonard Fulghum, past president of Ferguson Fulghum Inc. and a close friend of Scarborough's, helped him on his campaigns in the 1960s.

"Bobby was a working dynamo," Fulghum said. "If you had a tough job and wanted to get it done, he was tenacious in following through on something. He was one of a kind. He always worked for the interests of others, not himself. It was always for the community and the state."

Fulghum said Scarborough was an easy person to campaign for.

"He was always so positive," Fulghum said. "He was always for the right thing."

Fulghum characterized Scarborough's Senate loss as the beginning of the state tilt toward eventual Republican control.

"But Bobby's loss (to Edwards) was not the state's loss," Fulghum said. "They were both good men."

A member and past president of the National Exchange Club, Scarborough also was past president of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, past chairman of the United Way, a member of local and national American Red Cross boards, first president — in 1957 — of the Coastal Carolina Fair, a member of The Citadel's Board of Visitors and past president of the Association of Citadel Men.

Scarborough served two terms as a state highway commissioner, and the James Island Connector over the Ashley River bears his name. He was a former National Guardsman and captain in the Army. He also helped with Charleston's tercentennial observance in 1970 and the state's bicentennial celebration of America in 1976.

Scarborough was past chairman of Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments and the Charleston Area Transportation Study Policy Committee.

He also was a member of the Cancer Society, Salvation Army, Trident Academy, The Citadel Trust, Landmark Lodge AFM of South Carolina, United Fund of Charleston and Berkeley Counties, S.C. Safety Committee, Charleston YMCA and the Charleston Navy League.

He retired as president of Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co. in 1995 and then served as chairman of the board for the remainder of his life.

The funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at The Summerall Chapel at The Citadel. Interment will be at Magnolia Cemetery.

Scarborough is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and sons Robert Jr. and Wallace.