Edward J. Sebastian

Edward J. Sebastian, 63, died July 3, 2010, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from congestive heart failure.

Born in Lebanon, Pa., he was the son of the late Stephen George and Helen Smith Sebastian. Edward was the founder, chairman and chief executive of SMR Group LLC, a private equity investment firm in Newport Beach.

Before retiring in Newport Beach, he was the founder, chairman and chief executive of Resource Bancshares Corporation, or RBC, headquartered in Columbia, S.C. RBC was a holding company which included commercial banks in South Carolina and Florida, as well as Laureate Capital, and Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group.

Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group went public in 1993 and merged with NetBank Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., in March 2002.

Previously, Edward was board vice chairman for Bankers Trust of South Carolina and corporate executive vice president of NCNB Corporation, which are both now part of Bank of America. Prior to banking and investments, he began his career in 1968 with Price Waterhouse in New York, N.Y.

Edward was appointed by the late governor of South Carolina, Carroll A. Campbell Jr., as Board of Trustees chairman for the South Carolina Research Authority. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the South Financial Group, a financial institution headquartered in Greenville, S.C.; JMP Group Inc, a full-service investment banking and alternative asset management firm in San Francisco; and was active on the boards of advisors of various venture capital funds, including Baker Communication Fund of New York, New York. Edward received his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

Surviving are his wife, Susan S. Sebastian, and two daughters, Rosalind S. Mills and her husband John F. Mills of Corona Del Mar, and Ashley F. Sebastian of Santa Monica; as well as one grandchild, Olivia F. Mills.

A memorial service for Edward will be in Newport Beach in early August. Interment will be private.