Former Cherokee County educator killed in accident

By SCOTT POWELL
Ledger Staff Writer
spowell@gaffneyledger.com

An aspiring pro wrestler, former Cherokee County educator Brian Linder was a big kid at heart with a passion for helping underprivileged kids in the community.
Linder, 35, was killed in a truck accident on Aug. 23 at 2:45 a.m. on Highway 74 West in Kings Mountain, N.C.
He was a former assistant principal at Mary Bramlett Elementary and a special education teacher at Luther Vaughan Elementary.
Linder had recently started a new job as assistant principal at Whitlock Junior High in Spartanburg School District 7.
He spent six years working in Cherokee County schools before leaving in 2003 to take an assistant principal position in North Carolina.
Gaffney High teacher Ben Fuller became close friends with Linder while the two were college students at Gardner-Webb University (GWU). Their friendship deepened over the years while coaching together on the Gaffney High ninth grade and junior varsity football teams.
Fuller always called Linder by his last name.
"Brian was someone who would never ask for anything, but give you everything he had if you needed it. He was like an icon among his group of friends from GWU," Fuller said. "We always told 'Linder' stories. Last night, I was on the phone with one of my friends and we told 'Linder' stories for about an hour. Whenever he got his mind on something, he usually did it."
Fuller had a couple of favorite Linder stories readily available while remembering one of his closest friends.
"Back in college he wanted to buy a van. So he bought one of those older VW vans. It even had little curtains in it," Fuller said. "We would all hop in there and go to clubs or wherever. One day, he started driving and drove all the way to Mexico."
In April 2009, Linder told Fuller about his plans to buy a gyrocopter.
"Think of James Bond 'You Only Live Twice' or Mad Max 'The Road Warrior' if you need a visual reference," Fuller recalled. "This guy is 6'4, 290 and he wants a gyrocopter. That was Linder. I considered him one of my best friends and I will miss him."
Linder was instrumental in working to help establish an after-school program for Mary Bramlett Elementary students at the Cherokee County Boys and Girls Club. He enjoyed wrestling on the weekends and organized a couple of wrestling benefit shows in Cherokee County. He passed out complimentary tickets for Cherokee County students to attend the wrestling events.
Cherokee County Boys and Girls Club Director Vance Hammond met Linder shortly after Hammond started working as the club director in 2003.
"Brian really cared about kids. He was a great help in getting kids at Mary Bramlett Elementary involved in the Boys and Girls Club," Hammond said. "Brian was a great, strong role model for our youth. He wanted to become a pro wrestler and had a great passion for helping kids. This is a great loss for our community."
District administrator Audrey McClary was an assistant principal at Gaffney Middle School when she got to know Linder. They would often compare notes while taking education classes for their master's degree.
"Brian was a really nice guy. He was fun-loving with an outgoing personality," McClary said. "Brian was very involved in the community and really enjoyed working with kids."