Mark Huguley: Remembering a critical behind-the-scenes player in SC law enforcement

In the book The Road to Character, NewYork Times columnist David Brooks states about once a month he runs across a person who radiates an inner light. My friend Jim Wilson fit this description. He was usually happy, maybe even content, and was the only person I know who claimed never to have a headache.

Jim passed away this month after a remarkable life normally below the radar. He was a SLED agent and had far more impact on the lives of South Carolinians than most. His career at SLED began after he returned from service in the Pacific during World War II. After his discharge at Fort Jackson, Jim looked for a ride back to his home in Spartanburg County. He was from the Sugar Tit community, a fact fitting his sense of humor. He loved watching people react when telling them where his home was.

Having served in the Army Air Corps with a relative of then-Chief O.L. Brady of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Jim managed to hitch a ride with the chief, also from Spartanburg. It led to 42 years at SLED, beginning as the first chemist and ending as a major and deputy director. He was the father of the SLED crime lab, and his portrait hangs there in the lobby.

To be certain, there were already forensic disciplines at the agency. Ballistics and fingerprint identification were practiced. However, the chemistry lab introduced an academic discipline to the emerging forensic capabilities of SLED. Jim would oversee the implementation of blood-alcohol testing, DNA and laboratory accreditation.

He supervised the transfer of drug law enforcement from the old state Board of Health to SLED. Think of it: For roughly four decades, Jim had a hand in either the conviction or exoneration of anyone charged with DUI in South Carolina. That is a huge impact on the entire state.

Brooks described two sets of virtues: the resume virtues and the eulogy virtues: “The resume virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. We all know that the eulogy virtues are more important than the resume ones.”

Jim had eulogy virtues. He listened to people and made you feel valued. Most importantly, his manner was infused with gratitude. He said he felt he owed it to the country to serve in World War II.. He was grateful to the agency he served, and when he spoke of SLED, it was always “our” SLED; it was about being part of a family.

Jim made you feel at home. When you talked to him, you knew he was not thinking of something he was doing; he was not thinking about himself. He was thinking of you or SLED. It gave him depth of character.

However, his life included many things beyond work: family, friends, Clemson, gardening and humor. What a sense of humor he had, and an unusual ease in the midst of problems. Most of the time, he did not seem to worry. He did not live for the validation of external achievement, and that gave him credibility. Former FBI agent Gaines Boone recently remarked to me that Jim had managed to stay above politics, including internal politics. As Jim often said, “It’s a great life if you don’t weaken.”

Jim was honest about his weaknesses, including small ones. It was his custom to hunt with friends, and he often spoke of his hunting experiences with now-deceased SLED agents. We hunted deer, and the only other game he talked of hunting were rabbits. I asked why he didn’t shoot birds, and he replied candidly, “I can’t hit them.”

Jim could be grumpy on occasion, and some of his views were probably politically incorrect. But his was a well-balanced life. He was a great friend to me and to South Carolina. His integrity was above reproach in a job where honesty is essential. As justice often hinges on the reliability of forensic analysis, South Carolina was fortunate to have someone as trusted as Jim.

Ask him how he’s doing, and his standard folksy reply was, “Just right.” He really was.

This story was originally published April 26, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Mark Huguley: Remembering a critical behind-the-scenes player in SC law enforcement."