Edward Zimmerman Wimberly

The son of Edward Wimberly and Nora Zimmerman Wimberly, Edward was born March 15,  1942, in Columbia, South Carolina.  He grew up in St. Matthews, SC, the hometown of both his parents, and was able to play and  roam unfettered with his many cousins.   Edward was a surrealist painter whose subjects ranged from toasters to refrigerators, Chicken  Man and the Ghost Machine, and overstuffed chairs with vignettes seated on the cushions. He  was a well-known and masterful portrait painter. His portraits captured the essence of his  subjects, who ranged from college presidents to family friends  Edward served in   the US Coast Guard in Italy for several years where he visited museums and   churches and attended classical and modern musical performances. When he was young, schools  didn’t teach phonics;  consequently, he was hopeless at spelling at a time when the University of  South Carolina required that papers written in English classes could have no more than two  misspelled words. Eventually he attended the Atlanta College of Art where academic classes  involved spiritual mysticism, much more attuned to his thirst for understanding the wider world.   He and his wife then moved to Clemson where Edward received a master’s degree in visual arts.  They lived as caretakers at Ashtabula in Pendelton, a summer home built by the Gibbes family in  1824. Their bedroom was over an unheated part of the house, and water would freeze in glasses on bedside tables, a good preparation for life in their “new” old houses in St. Matthews.  Edward is survived by his wife Amanda Caldwell McNulty. He is also survived by his three   children, all of whom live in Los Angeles, Eliza Frezil Wimberly, Edward Conrad Zimmerman  Wimberly, and Lillian Caldwell Wimberly.     Edward enjoyed a close relationship with his many cousins and with his devoted children who   affectionally called him “Papa.”   He will be remembered as a man of great wit, courtly manners and charm, curiosity, an  encyclopedic memory, and inimitable laughter. As Edward was wont to say, “You may examine  any source you choose, but you will find that I am correct.” Services will be private. Please send memorials to the Oliver Gospel Mission in Columbia or  your favorite charity.