It’s often said that the secret to happiness is helping others. History is filled with great thinkers and leaders who proclaimed their support for this sentiment. Muhammad Ali famously said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” Leo Tolstoy once remarked, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.”
Then, fittingly, were the words uttered by the great British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
Few people personified this concept better than Edwin Malloy Jr., Bill Malloy III’s great uncle. During his life and many years after his death, Edwin’s philanthropy has supported worthy organizations across the country. His philanthropy has ensured a lasting legacy that “cannot be measured,” as America’s National Churchill Museum, one of the beneficiaries of his generosity, aptly noted.
Who was Edwin Malloy Jr.?
Edwin Malloy, Jr. was born on September 9, 1917 in Cheraw, a small town in South Carolina. In 1940, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served in the Second World War as a commissioned officer on the USS Colorado. Edwin advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and then Commander prior to his retirement from the Navy in 1946.
Following his departure from the military and having obtained a master of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1945, Edwin started working for his family’s textile business, Cheraw Yarn Mills. He served as secretary and then director of the company from 1963 until his death in February 2005.
Outside of his work, Edwin was an active member of his community who dedicated much of his time and energy to helping others. As a devout Christian, he was part of the First Presbyterian Church in Cheraw, serving as deacon and elder, and was a member of the board of trustees for the Presbyterian Home of South Carolina. He also served as a department commander with the American Legion, a leader within the Cheraw Kiwanis Club, and as chairman of the Malloy Foundation.
Edwin was also deeply involved with the Boy Scouts of America, serving on the executive board of the Pee Dee Area Council of the BSA from 1967 until his death. His dedication was rewarded with the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor an adult can receive within the Boy Scouts.
Beneficiaries of Edwin Malloy Jr.’s Philanthropy
Prior to his death, Edwin Malloy Jr. had the foresight to establish the Edwin Malloy Jr. Trust to continue to give to the many causes and organizations he supported throughout his life.
Among the many to benefit from Edwin’s philanthropy are the Boy Scouts of America’s Pee Dee Area Council, to whom he left a substantial gift to be spread out over 15 years.
America’s National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Missouri also received financial support from the Malloy Trust, with quarterly distributions spread out over 15 years, amounting to more than $500,000. That financial commitment has now been fully funded.
In 1946, Churchill delivered one of his most significant speeches at Westminster College. It was in this address, “Sinews of Peace,” that he uttered the famous phrase, “An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent,” in reference to the Soviet Union. “Iron curtain” quickly entered the vocabulary of the Cold War.
The Churchill Museum was established in the 1960s when Westminster celebrated the 20th anniversary of the speech. The college marked the occasion by disassembling a 17th century London church that had been bombed during WWII, and reconstructing it on the Westminster campus in Missouri. In 2009, Congress formally recognized the museum as the US’ permanent tribute to Churchill.
Thanks to Edwin’s and other donors’ generosity, this unique museum will continue to inspire and educate visitors on Churchill and the special relationship between the UK and the US that he brokered.
“Current and future students, visitors, and Churchillians will benefit greatly from Edwin Malloy’s generosity and permanent endorsement of the Museum’s vision. For that, we are exceedingly grateful,” the museum’s directors said in a statement.
Edwin Malloy Jr.’s Lasting Legacy
Edwin Malloy Jr. was fortunate enough to be able to support causes he cared about in life—and to be able to keep supporting these causes after his passing.
Most of us want to leave a legacy behind. Statues and grand buildings are evidence of this. Edwin’s generosity will go on enriching people’s lives long into the future. There is no greater legacy than this.
Bill Malloy 