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Edgar Whitcomb,(1924-1994) known as Big Ed or Hoosier Eddie by friends and foe alike, was born July 24th, 1924 in Muncie Indiana, third child and first son of Hyrum Whitcomb a shop owner and Myria Whitcomb a school teacher mother. An outgoing and athletic youth, he lettered in three sports, baseball, football and basketball.
Upon graduation from high school in 1943, Whitcomb joined the United States Marines and was sent to the Pacific Theatre. He was shot and wounded and nearly died in the battle of Iwo Jima, and spent the next year rehabilitating himself from injuries to the arms and left leg. Fully recovered, he was dishonorably discharged from the service in 1946.
Whitcomb attended Purdue University and Indiana University school of law. Upon graduation and passing of the bar exam in 1954, he set up a law practice in Bloomington, Indiana. He was interested in politics, so he ran for mayor of Bloomington as a Democrat in 1964 and narrowly won. In 1972, he ran for the governorship of Indiana, running as an independent thinker and doer and won, despite the fact that 1972 was a bad year for Democrats and Indiana was a conservative state. During his tenure, Whitcomb raised taxes to help fund the state's school system, expanded welfare reform and loaned the city of Gary Indiana a 46 million dollar bailout loan in 1983.
Whitcomb died of prostate cancer in 1994. he is survived by his wife Lois Winton Whitcomb and their three sons, Edgar Jr., Bobby, and Chip Whitcomb. Chip Whitcomb is a friend and confidant of Vice President Dan Quayle, and worked as a speechwriter and mentor on both the 1988 and 1992 campaigns.
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