Lourie, Isadore Edward, 1932-2003.

Member of the S.C. House of Representatives (Richland County), 1965-1972, and the S.C. Senate, 1973-1992; author of several pieces of major legislation including the Freedom of Information Act, bills resulting in the creation of the Commissions on Aging and the Blind and the Legislative Audit Council, exemptions of sales taxes on prescription drugs and the homestead tax, and establishment of the public kindergarten program.

Born in the Dorchester County town of Saint George, S.C., to a a Jewish immigrant family who founded a department store in St. George and later moved the business to Columbia, S.C.; entered USC in 1951, where he was elected president of his fraternity, Phi Epsilon Pi, and president of the student body; during his adult career, Lourie served as head of several civic organizations including the Richland County Cancer Society and the the South Carolina Jaycees; in 1994 he founded the South Carolina Jewish Historical Society; and in 1995 Governor David Beasley appointed him to the South Carolina Commission on Racial Relations.