Doc Baldwin, 82, businessman who championed high school – Coastal Observer
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Doc Baldwin, 82, businessman who championed high school

January 5, 2023

Maurice Dargan Baldwin II of Hagley Estates, a Pawleys Island business owner for nearly 50 years, died Dec. 23 with his sons by his side. He was 82. 

Known as Doc, he was born Aug. 23, 1940, in Whiteville, N.C., the son of Maurice Baldwin and Elizabeth Dargan Martin. He grew up there and in Spartanburg. He served in the Air Force, which is where he received his nickname. There were three Baldwins in his unit during basic training. Since he was  listed as “Baldwin, M.D.,” he became Doc.

He attended the University of South Carolina, the University of Maryland, Horry-Georgetown Technical College and South Carolina State University. He held a teaching certificate with  master’s degree equivalency.  

He was married for 50 years to the late Bess Baker Baldwin. The couple moved to Pawleys Island from Jacksonville, Fla., in 1974 and started the 3-Way Exxon on Highway 17 at the South Causeway. It was a service station, liquor store and, in the beginning, a restaurant that became a small bar.

Mr. Baldwin then worked in sales before becoming an auto mechanics teacher at the Georgetown Career Center at the Howard School.

In 1985, the couple opened a video rental shop that soon became a Radio Shack franchise under the name Electronics Etc. It had the area’s first fax machine and was its first cellphone dealer.

The business evolved as electronics became disposable. In 2001, they got a contract from the U.S. Postal Service to open a service center in the store during a time when the local post office was struggling with turnover and growing complaints from customers. It started as a six-month contract and has continued to operate ever since. The business later expanded into office supplies.

Mr. Baldwin also had an interest in politics. He ran for Georgetown County Council in 1979 and 1994, both times as a Republican. In between, he served on the executive committee of the county Democratic Party, which he said was the only way to get things done.

He was also one of the early advocates for building Waccamaw High School. The campaign to convince the school board to fund the school, which opened in 1990, was one he remembered with pride, his family said.

Mr. Baldwin was a member of the Pawleys Island Moose Lodge,  Elks Lodge and the local VFW. He was frequent organizer of benefits for community causes, and was remembered as someone who was always willing to help people in need.

He is survived by his sons, Maurice Dargan Baldwin III and Oliver Gore Baldwin, both of Pawleys Island; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth Baldwin and Maurice Dargan Baldwin IV.

Condolences may be sent at grahamfuneralhome.org.

LOCAL EVENTS

Meetings

Georgetown County Board of Education: First and third Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m., Beck Education Center. For details, go to gcsd.k12.sc.us. Georgetown County Council: Second and fourth Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 129 Screven St., Georgetown. For details, go to georgetowncountysc.org. Pawleys Island Town Council: Second Mondays, 5 p.m. Town Hall, 323 Myrtle Ave. For details, go to townofpawleysisland.com.   , .

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