Getty Former "Southern Charm" star Thomas Ravenel mourned the death of his father, former South Carolina politician Arthur Ravenel, Jr.
“Southern Charm” personality Thomas Ravenel mourned the loss of his father, former South Carolina politician Arthur Ravenel, Jr. He was 95 years old.
Thomas Ravenel — who appeared on “Southern Charm” for five seasons — issued a brief statement via social media on January 16. “Rest in Peace Dad,” he wrote via Instagram and Twitter.
He didn’t share a cause of death.
Thomas Ravenel, 60, shared a photo that showed himself walking with one of his sons and his father as they all held hands.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said Arthur Ravenel Jr. would be missed.
“Cousin Arthur loved Charleston in his bones, and Charleston loved him back. Over the course of 95 remarkable years, he was a Marine, a business leader, a family man, and a distinguished public servant at every level of government,” Tecklenburg said in a statement, per WCSC. “Put simply, his was a life in full — a life of joy and meaning and consequence — and he will be much missed.”
South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace also issued a statement, tweeting: “Today we lost a great friend of the Lowcountry and former Representative of SC-01 – Arthur Ravenel Jr. Our prayers are with the Ravenel family this evening.”
‘Cousin Arthur’ Spent 6 Decades in Politics
Arthur Ravenel Jr. was best known as “Cousin Arthur” in South Carolina, according to various reports. He spent six decades in the public arena, winning elections in the state Senate, the state House and Congress, the Associated Press reported. After retiring from the Senate, he became a member of the Charleston County School Board from 2006 to 2010, Mount Pleasant noted.
One of Ravenel’s most recognized accomplishments was the $632 million bridge he helped get built over Cooper River, connecting Charleston to Mount Pleasant, as noted by the AP. The bridge was named after him to honor the work he did in Washington to get the project funded, the AP said.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. faced some controversy in 2000, with some people calling for him to resign after he indicated the NAACP was the “National Association for Retarded People,” the AP reported. Ravenel, whose ancestors had ties to the Confederacy, was fighting to keep the Confederate flag in the Statehouse dome, the AP wrote.
A lifelong South Carolina resident, Arthur Ravenel Jr. was born and raised in Charleston. He did a stint in the Marine Corps. from 1945 to 1946, and married his first wife, Louise Rodgers, in 1948, per Mount Pleasant magazine.
They welcomed six children together: Suzanne, Arthur III, Renee, Eva, William and Thomas.
In a post on December 31, Thomas Ravenel joked that his grandfather said his mother was too delicate to get married. “When my father asked my grandfather for my mother’s hand he said ‘oh no, she’s way too fragile!’ Here she is 6 kids later and still going strong at 94!” he wrote.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. then married Jean Rickenbaker in 1974.
‘Cousin Arthur’ Started His Career as a Democrat
Arthur Ravenel Jr. entered the political realm for the first time in 1953, getting his start as a Democrat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, per Mount Pleasant.
Ravenel told the AP in 2004 that most of South Carolina were Democrats when he entered politics. “You just heard about Republicans,” he told the AP.
In the 1960s, however, Arthur Ravenel Jr. became a Republican.
“The Democratic Party was getting more and more liberal,” Ravenel told the AP in 2004. “As it got more liberal, we were able to recruit more and more people to run.”
According to the State House website, Arthur Ravenel Jr. served as a South Carolina state senator from 1981 to 1986, and for a second time from 1997 to 2003; he served in U.S. Congress from 1987 to 1995; and he served in the House from 1953 to 1958.
Arthur Ravenel Jr. obtained a Bachelor of Science from the College of Charleston, per the State House website.