Roll of Honor
His Life
Sergeant Jeff Flanders served the citizens of Lexington County for nearly four decades. He began his career with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department in 1984 and served until his retirement in April 2022, working in crime prevention and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education programme, where he reached countless young people and families across the county. His final assignment was with the Sheriff's Community Action Team, building relationships between law enforcement and the community he served.
He was a professional speaker, a former broadcaster, a singer and an entertainer, and he was the father of Gertrood the Duck, the ventriloquist character who carried his lessons to audiences of every age. Whether he stood in front of a classroom, a room of teachers, or a group of parents, his message did not change: one person can make a difference.
Rest easy, Sergeant Flanders. Your watch is complete, but your influence lives on.
Before law enforcement Jeff built a career in broadcasting, beginning as a radio announcer at WTMA in Charleston and working at WIS-Radio from 1969 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1983 as both an on-air personality and business manager. In the late 1970s he was station manager of KWJS in Dallas. Even while serving with the Sheriff's Department he kept a part-time seat on the morning show at Z93 The Lake.
A graduate of Eau Claire High School in Columbia, he joined the United States Air Force after graduation. His service was cut short for medical reasons and he was honourably discharged.
He was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn "Mandy" Flanders. They married on 25 September 1967.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-2D3D3652- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 3, 2026
- Last updated
- August 3, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Flanders gave the Lexington County Sheriff's Department 38 years.
Thank you for your service to Lexington County, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
His Life Details
Military Service
Jeff Flanders served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant Jeff Flanders is one of 3,037 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.3% of all 32,586 officers honored here.
In SC, 11 of 440 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.5% of this state's fallen. That is 6.8 percentage points below the national rate of 9.3%.
At Lexington County Sheriff's Department, 1 of 6 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jeff Flanders's cause is highlighted.
How Jeff Flanders Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Jeff Flanders is highlighted in Jun.
Military Service
Jeff Flanders served in the U.S. Air Force before joining law enforcement.
Visit Jeff Flanders’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Laid to Rest
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Lexington County Sheriff's Department are honored on badge.nw.
