37-year-old SC youth pastor with a ‘vibrant smile’ dies after cancer diagnosis

A South Carolina youth pastor known for his “vibrant smile” and friendliness died after he was diagnosed with cancer, officials said.

Eddie Fleming, a 37-year-old father of three, served as an elementary school resource officer before he started working with young people in a different capacity at the Summerville Family Worship Center, according to the town’s police department and an online obituary.

“Eddie was a man of faith and someone who would do anything to help anyone in need,” Charleston-area officers wrote Aug. 22 in a Facebook post. “His vibrant smile would light up a room, and he knew no strangers.”

On Aug. 21, Fleming died “with his family by his side after his heroic battle with cancer,” police said.

After his death, dozens of social media users paid tribute to the beloved former officer, remembered as a talented musician who made his mark on the police force.

“I don’t know how to describe him, there’s a ton of words we could use,” Lt. Chris Hirsch told WCIV. “One that comes to mind is charismatic. Everybody loved Eddie Fleming. When he walked into a room, everybody was smiling.”

Fleming grew up in Hartsville and also had worked in law enforcement in Sumter, according to an obituary posted on the James A. Dyal Funeral Home website. In Summerville, he had roles in the patrol, traffic, investigative and school resource units.

Fleming, who also considered jobs in teaching and coaching, previously said he had long been attracted to law enforcement.

“I took an interest in it at a young age,” Fleming said in a video that Summerville police posted online in 2020. “And then I had a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer in the fifth grade who made a big impression on me and I looked at him and said: ‘Man, I think I could do that one day.’”

After Fleming joined the Summerville church, he transitioned to a new role as a “full-time youth pastor and worship leader,” according to his obituary.

“Please join us by keeping Eddie’s family in your thoughts and prayers,” officers in Summerville, roughly 25 miles northwest of Charleston, wrote on Facebook.

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