US Sen. Lindsey Graham remembered by his ‘beloved’ South Carolina: ‘He was us’

COLUMBIA — The late Sen. Lindsey Graham was remembered Wednesday as a loyal friend who embodied the American Dream and the state he loved.

“The reason he resonated with us is because he was us,” former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy of Spartanburg said Wednesday during Graham’s funeral at First Baptist Church.

“He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but a plastic fork,” he said. “It is the story of America. It is the story of South Carolina that we punch above our weight.”

Graham, 71, died late July 11 from a ruptured aorta, according to preliminary findings from the medical examiner’s office in Washington, D.C.

The two-hour public service in Columbia followed an invitation-only memorial at Washington National Cathedral, where President Donald Trump gave the eulogy.

“This kid from South Carolina … rose to be mourned by world leaders, friends with presidents,” Gowdy said, noting the small-town lawyer also ended up picking Supreme Court justices.

‘Least pretentious person’

And yet, Graham was the “least pretentious person I’ve ever seen in politics,” Gowdy told the more than 1,000 people gathered in the church for the funeral.

Those in attendance included current and former elected officials, state agency heads, college presidents, the senator’s family, and long-time employees he considered family.

Graham grew up in Central, in the back room of a restaurant and pool hall owned by his parents. He raised his sister, Darline, after both his parents died 15 months apart, while he was a student at the University of South Carolina.

“There are three things that matter to me,” Gowdy said Graham told him: the putter his father gave him, the class ring his mother bought for him just before she died, and his sister.

Giving an example of how unostentatious Graham was, Gowdy recalled how he showed up to fellow Sen. Tim Scott’s August 2024 wedding in Mount Pleasant.

Running late, as usual, Graham walked up wearing cargo pants and a Dale Earnhardt t-shirt. Asked by Gowdy’s wife whether he wanted them to wait while he changed, his response was: “Change what?”

Graham’s characteristic humor was also on display at Scott’s wedding.

As the vows began and the pastor asked the couple if they’d love each other “in sickness and in health,” Graham could no longer contain himself. He leaned over to Gowdy and asked: “How sick are we talking? Seasonal allergies?”

At the line for richer or for poorer, Graham quipped: “Tim, don’t do it. Negotiate.”

“You have no idea how hard it is to get kicked out of a wedding, but we managed to do it,” Gowdy joked, earning a chorus of laughter from the church.

The hilarity continued at the reception, when Graham told a young child, “‘I’m so sorry, buddy. There will be no Social Security for you,'” Scott recalled.

An authentic man

But Graham wasn’t all jokes. He had a way of lifting people up, especially fellow South Carolinians.

Graham’s political career began in 1992, when he won a state House seat. Voters then elected him to the U.S. House in 1994 and the U.S. Senate in 2002 to replace retiring Strom Thurmond.

Graham had already been sworn in to the Senate in January 2003 when he came to Columbia for the inauguration of Gov. Mark Sanford. As part of the ceremony, Graham walked down the Statehouse steps with U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, who after 36 years in the Senate alongside Thurmond was finally South Carolina’s senior senator.

But Hollings, a Democrat, received only light applause at a ceremony where seven of the nine constitutional officers being sworn in were Republicans — including Henry McMaster, then newly elected attorney general. By comparison, thunderous applause came from the crowd when Graham’s name was called. He took Hollings’ hand and lifted it high, acknowledging the attention as a team rather than for himself.

It was a moment that stuck with McMaster.

“I believe that not many men would have done what Lindsey did,” the governor said.

Those who spoke about Graham also said he lived out his faith, even though he wasn’t a well-versed church-goer.

Asked at Scott’s annual prayer breakfast to share his favorite Bible verse, Graham gave a line that was actually a quote from the movie “Gladiator.”

“He did more for the cause of Christ, without being able to cite a Bible verse, just with the authentic way that he presented his relationship with Christ,” Gowdy said.

That down-to-earth, authenticity is something Maria Medanis and her mother Pat, both of Columbia, experienced firsthand.

Pat Medanis’ mother, who lived in London, was sick and didn’t have long to live. At the last minute, Pat Medanis learned her passport had expired. She contacted Graham at his Senate office. She didn’t have to say much. He just offered to help and got the job done.

“I got to hold my mother’s hand at the very last hour,” Pat Medanis said. “So, to me, that is a gift of a lifetime.”

“I think South Carolina lost a very important man,” she added. “Because he was all feelings, and he always wanted to help, no matter what area it was.”

That personal connection is what prompted the mother and daughter to pay their final respects at First Baptist Church.

Back home in South Carolina

Graham’s attention to constituent service continued the tradition of his predecessor, whose July 1, 2003, funeral was also at First Baptist Church. Thurmond, the only senator ever to turn 100 in office, died less than six months after retiring. His 47½ years in the U.S. Senate ranks fourth-longest in history.

It’s been 19 years since the church held the funeral for a statewide official. Former Gov. Robert McNair (1965-71), who was a member of the church, died in November 2007 at 83 years old.

In a final sendoff for Graham, the funeral attendees rose to sing the final chorus of “How Great Thou Art.”

Following the public funeral, a motorcade escorted Graham’s remains to his native Pickens County for a private family burial.

“You’re back in your beloved South Carolina,” Gowdy said, as attendees wiped back tears.
”And you will soon be laid the rest in your hometown.”