Edwin Shaffer Rockefeller III

Edwin Shaffer Rockefeller, III, died on October 9, 2022. A long-time resident of Washington, DC, he was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on September 10, 1927. After he lost his mother at a young age, his father moved the family to Maryland to start a farm. Later, Edwin attended George School, where he became exposed to Quakerism, a lifelong influence. As a young man hoping to avoid conscription, he joined the US Merchant Marine as a deckhand on a cargo ship bringing grains and dry goods to war-torn France in 1946, the adventure of his life. With a merit scholarship, he attended and graduated from Yale, then Yale Law School, where he also worked part-time to support himself. He later met his wife to-be, Marilie Gould Wallace, in Washington where they both worked for the government. After being transferred to Germany, he asked her to join and marry him. A few years later, he left overseas government service and became a lawyer in Washington, first working for the Federal Trade Commission, then for himself as an antitrust lawyer. After retirement, he published books skeptical of antitrust legislation and of financial aid, which he described as a system of anti-competitive discriminatory price discounts first used by the Ivy League to maximize revenues of tax-exempt educational businesses. He became a gadfly to Yale. A free thinker and libertarian at heart, he enjoyed playing chess, reading, boating, Dixieland jazz, lunch with friends at The Metropolitan Club, and informal debate. He never stopped prompting anyone who would listen to ask questions, to think for themselves, and to seek the truth. His spirit lives on in his sons, Ben and Ted. He is also survived by his sister, Nancy Libby of Ridgefield, CT, and three grandchildren. Please sign the Guestbook at www.legacy.com/washingtontimes