SAYING GOODBYE TO OLD FRIENDS

Firefighters carry the casket of former Gaffney Fire Chief Donald Parris in late January. A retired U.S. Air Force veteran, Parris was buried with full military honors. Two former fire chiefs and a police chief passed away in 2008.

Former Gaffney Fire Chief Donald Parris, 71, was laid to rest in Frederick Memorial Gardens in late January. Parris retired from the Gaffney Fire Department in 1999 and had worked in recent years as a 911 emergency dispatcher. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran and a charter member of the Macedonia Volunteer Fire Department.

A second Gaffney fire chief passed away two weeks later.

Charles Petty, 80, served Gaffney for 42 years as fire chief and 48 years overall as a firefighter.

Former Gaffney Police Chief Jimmy Scates, 67, died Dec. 23 on the same day his successor John O'Donald retired. Several veteran members of the police department worked under Scates.