Joseph H. McGee Jr.

Joseph Halstead "Peter" McGee Jr. (April 6, 1929 – April 27, 2024) was an American politician in the state of South Carolina. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1963 to 1968, representing Charleston County, South Carolina. He was a lawyer and judge. McGee helped protect Charleston's Four Corners of Law. He was the father-in-law of comedian Stephen Colbert.

Early life McGee was born on April 6, 1929, in Charleston, South Carolina. He was brought up in the city as an only child, by his father, Joseph Halstead McGee, a trust officer at a local bank, and Madeleine Gendron McGee (née Stoney), a housewife.

He attended Miss Sadie Jervey's private one-room school for two years, elementary at the Craft School, and later went to Charleston High School, graduating in 1945. McGee joined the United States Navy in 1952, and from July 1953 to July 1955, he served as a Lt. J.G. aboard of the USS Wasp (CV-18). and became President of the SC Bar Senior Lawyers Division in 2002. A year later he was recognized with the Bar Association’s DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award. McGee was admitted to the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1991.

Political career From 1963 to 1968, McGee served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the Charleston County district, for three two-year terms. He was First Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee from 1966 to 1968. As Vice-Chair of the South Carolina Tri-centennial Commission from 1966 to 1971 he led efforts to negotiate the purchase, raise the funds, and plan for the creation of Charles Towne Landing.

Advocacy and volunteering McGee served on the Evening Post Publishing Company’s Board of Directors for twenty years.

Personal life and death McGee married Evelyn 'Patti' Moore in 1960, and had two daughters, Madeleine and Evelyn. They remained married until her death, on November 11, 2022, after a long illness. He and his wife lived in Charleston until 2015, when they moved to a house in Sullivan's Island. He died April 27, 2024, at the age of 95. In 2023, the Historic Charleston Foundation, created a new award named after McGee, which recognizes excellence in advocacy, community preservation and planning. In 2024, a renovation of the park at Wragg Square, in front of Charleston's Second Presbyterian Church, was made in honor of McGee and his wife. The park also features a plaque conveying their love of the community.