“You’ll have lots of friends in Bamberg, but only one Buddy,” First Baptist Church of Bamberg Pastor Charlie Lucas said Buddy Sandifer told him upon their first meeting several months ago.

“I feel like I lost my Buddy,” Rev. Lucas told an overflow crowd of people that came to the First Baptist Church on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. to pay their final respects to Heyward “Buddy” Sandifer, who died on Thursday, May 20, at his home on Dickerson Street in Bamberg.

Sandifer was eulogized as “a kind, considerate and encouraging man, who went about doing good”. “Buddy would always be there when you needed him,” Lucas added.

Kelly Shanks said that he looked up the word Buddy, which he said is defined as “a close friend.” Shanks said that Sandifer’s funeral was easy to preach because “Buddy has already lived and preached this sermon for today.” “Buddy was a friend-how much he cared for you and me, he always put others first,” Rev Shanks added.

Sandifer was remembered as a man that collected different hats and wore many different hats in life. He was a husband, father, grandfather, friend and a servant of the people. “He was truly a Buddy, always willing to help”. Shanks then asked the question; “what are we going to do now?”

Sandifer was also remembered as person who was a doer, who was “involved and who was active.” Shanks commented that you needed to make sure you wanted something done before asking Buddy Sandifer, because when you asked him to do something it would get done.

Sandifer was serving his first six-year as a Commissioner on the Bamberg Board of Public Works. Prior to his service on the BPW he was a member of Bamberg City Council for 26 years, with the last 13 years as Mayor Pro Tem.

As a city councilmember, he was instrumental in the construction of the Julius B. “Bubba”Ness Sports Complex. A member of the Bamberg Fire Department for 44 years, Sandifer was assistant fire chief when he retired from the department about a year ago.

As a member of the fire department, Sandifer was honored for saving the lives of 17 prisoners locked in cells at the Bamberg County Jail when that facility caught fire in February 1973. He was also cited for pulling two men from a 165-foot water tank in Denmark in April 1980. For his heroics Sandifer received the James B. Murphy Award as the SC Fireman of the Year in 1980. “Themany souls he rescued from a burning blaze, that was his life, a great minister,” Rev Shanks said of Sandifer.

Sandifer retired from Edisto Electric Cooperative Inc. in 2000 after 41 years of service. He was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Bamberg.

At a ceremony honoring him on December 14, 2009 at the Bamberg Civic Center, Sandifer reflected back over his life. “One word can describe my life, blessed. I’m a blessed person, that’s what my life has been,” Sandifer said. “This is not about me, this is about you people. Bamberg is a little blessed town I’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years.”