Jeff Flanders

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.