Lex Edward Elkins

ST. HELENA, SOUTH CAROLINA - It is with great sadness that Lex Elkins, age 56, passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2013, after a short and fierce fight with cancer.

Lex was a well-known veteran of the office products sector, with accomplishments that shaped an industry.  He began his career in 1977 and quickly rose from sales to sales management at Lucas Brothers, an office products dealer in Washington, D.C.  Lex co-founded Express Office Products in Atlanta, which established a unique position in the market supporting enterprise customers.  After successfully helping to build the company, Lex and his partners sold to Hanson Office Products.  As an executive at Hanson, Lex orchestrated a growth strategy that helped them become a leading Office Products dealer. Hanson was acquired by Corporate Express in 1993.

As a leader at Corporate Express, Lex began as Regional Vice President for the Eastern Region of the country.  Soon after, Lex assumed responsibility for Strategic Customers and Global Sales, a role that brought Lex to customers all over the world. Through his talent for connecting with customers, Lex successfully grew the Enterprise Sales Group at Corporate Express into an industry leader.

Since joining the Staples family in 2008, Lex has served as a member of the Staples Advantage leadership team and most recently, as Vice President of Account Management, responsible for the Eastern half of the United States.  Following the merger between Corporate Express and Staples, Lex played an important leadership role forging alliances across teams and presenting one face of Staples to the customer.  As an experienced and tenured sales executive, Lex was an advisor and mentor to many. Perhaps most memorably, Lex had a knack for building relationships.  Lex touched the hearts of many, from his top customers, to his sales team members, to his colleagues at the home office.

Any friend or colleague of Lex knows well that the most important thing to Lex has always been his family.

Lex is survived by his wife Kimberley Paschal Elkins of Saint Helena Island, SC; his 22-year-old son  Lex Elkins, III, a senior at Clemson University; his mother Margaret "Lois" Elkins, a resident at River Oaks Senior Care in Beaufort, SC; his younger brother Thomas Barry Elkins, Tom's wife Pamela and their sons Edward and Hunter of Columbia, SC; his younger sister Debra Elkins McIntyre, her husband Christopher B. McIntyre of Myrtle Beach, SC; Debra's son Cody McIlroy of Columbia, SC, Debra's daughter Gabrielle Lexis Stalnaker of Myrtle Beach, SC and Debra's stepdaughter Emily Grace McIntyre and his many other nephews and nieces, cousins, uncles, and aunts from his beloved Clover, SC; his many, many friends from a childhood and education in Columbia, SC to his global travels.

In his final days, Lex was surrounded by his friends and family doing the things he loved best - watching South Carolina Gamecock football and enjoying the views of the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 14th, at 11:00am at the Carteret Street Methodist Church - 408 Carteret Street, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29902.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution can be made to the Carteret Street Methodist Church - 408 Carteret Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902 or to Sanctuary Hospice - Post Office Box 161, Ridgeland, South Carolina 29936.