Victim fondly remembered

Days after the tragedy on Pleasant School Road, questions remain but none bigger than the often most difficult to answer.

Why?

"We ask ourselves (that question), and we may never know," said Larry White, a major in the Salvation Army who officiated a celebration of life service for a man who many said should be remembered for the way he lived and not the way he died.

James "Cecil" Brogden, 67, was killed early Saturday morning when a 28-year-old Gaffney man went on a rampage with a stolen 10-ton front end loader. Police tried repeatedly to stop the massive piece of equipment, and they ultimately did with the use of deadly force against the driver, but not before Brogden became a casualty.

Brogden, who had been house-sitting for his son-in-law and daughter on Pleasant School Road when he stepped outside to investigate an approaching commotion, was fondly remembered Tuesday as a loving father, grandfather, friend as well as a tireless and dedicated member of the Salvation Army who had touched countless lives throughout many parts of the country.

While sadness was evident on the faces of some of Brogden's many family members, friends and longtime coworkers that filled Grassy Pond Baptist Church, the sadness was frequently interrupted by laughter and smiles as many touching and humorous stories were told about his life.

Salvation Army Maj. Roy Ward fondly recalled the day he and his family were huddled in a small closet with Brogden as they waited for a tornado warning to expire.

"He was an independent spirit," Ward said of his friend. "He had an innovative mind that brought innovative ideas."

Brogden, who was born in Goldsboro, N.C., had committed his life to the Salvation Army when he was 16 and officially retired in 2006.

"Most of us who are older kind of stumble into retirement looking for the first easy chair we could find that fits," Ward said. "Not Cecil."

Though he "retired," Brogden continued to work for the Salvation Army and was scheduled to head last Saturday morning for the center in Charlotte, N.C., he administered. Ward likened Brogden's ongoing energy to a "reserve" gas tank.

Maj. Leonard Taylor first met Brogden about 30 years ago. At the time, Taylor was assigned to a Salvation Army post in Tennessee and Brogden had been newly assigned to a post in the neighboring community of Bristol.

"I called Cecil and invited him over for Labor Day," Taylor recalled about reaching out to the new Salvation Army officer in the region. Practically the first words out of Brogden's mouth, he remembered with a laugh, was a question. Brogden inquired, "When are you going to bring back all the equipment you borrowed from the previous officer (in Bristol)?"

Their initial encounter led to a close and long-lasting friendship over the next three decades that saw them travel together, play golf together, and collaborate frequently.

"Cecil, if you were a friend of his you were a friend forever," Taylor said.

They last spoke on Thanksgiving Day, Taylor said, and they had talked about getting together again.

Brogden was a history buff and loved to visit Civil War sites, Taylor said. During a trip up North, Taylor remembered they had stopped in Washington, D.C. and Brogden wanted to use some of their time for a side trip up to Pennsylvania to see Gettysburg.

So intent on getting there, Taylor recalled with a smile, Brogden practically rushed their visit to the Smithsonian, telling his friend, "If you stop to look at everything we aren't going to see nothing."

Many of the participants in the service, like Taylor, said it was difficult, if not impossible, to sum up Brogden's life in the brief time they had. He had served the Salvation Army in many communities and, in later years, was a leader in the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center command.

"I don't know what words I can say about my father," said Brogden's son Michael. "There are too many."

Michael Brogden described his father as a caring and loving man, an avid reader, a lover of history, a man of great faith, a man of conviction and a devoted grandfather.

"He had a sense of purpose," he said. "He had knowledge of the Word, and its application."

A great preacher as well, Michael Brogden said of his father, "He challenged his children not to be the best at sports, not to be the best in business, but to do the best for God."

All of that combined, said Taylor, led to the real question that people needed to reflect on.

"The question is not how did he die," Taylor said of his friend's passing, "but how did he live?"