Unlike other parts of South Carolina, residents of Horry and Georgetown counties can't point to many things built with the help of or named after Thurmond. But that doesn't mean he didn't use his influence to the benefit of his Grand Strand constituents, say those who knew him.

"Strom has helped us a lot," said Egerton Burroughs, chairman of Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc. and the godfather of Thurmond's daughter, Juliana Gertrude.

"Road money, money for colleges. ... Just about anywhere you see an injection of federal money. The senator was key in keeping the [former Myrtle Beach Air Force] base here for a long time."

The man who stepped into national politics as a staunch segregationist eventually earned a reputation for the support he gave to his black constituents, Burroughs said.

"The whole South has changed," Burroughs said. "And I would say the senator has been a leader in changing the South. He probably has never gotten the credit he deserves for changing the South."

Political scientists and Thurmond supporters credit Thurmond's switch from Democrat to Republican with setting up the Republican Party's current lock on much of the South.

"In many ways, his life is a history of the state of South Carolina," said Conway attorney Morgan Martin.

Martin is a former Democratic member in the state House of Representatives and chairman of the Department of Transportation Commission under former Gov. Jim Hodges.

Although the Grand Strand doesn't have a Thurmond lake or a Thurmond research center, Martin said, "I know that, from a broad standpoint, the things that came to South Carolina as a result of congressional work in Washington benefited from Strom Thurmond."

Horry County Republican Chairman Duane Oliver said, "I don't know of a politician [who] has touched more constituents than Strom has over the years. He has come to [the] aid of countless thousands in South Carolina."

Thurmond will be remembered for going the extra mile.

"If I've got somebody who's having a problem with Social Security or records in one of the branches of the armed forces, a call to Strom Thurmond's office was always treated as the highest priority," said state Sen. Luke Rankin, D-Myrtle Beach.

At a time when most men his age were settling into rocking chairs and rest homes, many say Thurmond will be famous for his vigor.

Mary Eaddy, president of Wordsmith Inc. public relations firm, worked for Thurmond as an intern in the early 1970s.

"I went bicycle riding with him all over Washington one day," Eaddy said. "We were gone all day. Then that night, he and Nancy had us over for hamburgers at their house.

"Monday, I could barely shuffle across Capitol Hill to get to work, I was so sore," Eaddy said. "And he was at the office doing push-ups and eating health food."

15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree met Thurmond while in law school and talked to him several times since.

"What a wonderful life he has had," Hembree said. "I'm so sad for his family, but what a celebration it'll be to look back at his life."

Myrtle Beach City Councilman Randal Wallace said he volunteered for Thurmond's 1996 re-election campaign and spent a summer day campaigning with Thurmond in Loris.

"We had a huge amount of 'Elect Strom' buttons," Wallace said. "He handed out every single one of them. It must have been 800 [of the buttons]. When the buttons ran out, he kept shaking hands. He had a viselike grip. It was one the greatest experiences of my political life. There will never be another Strom Thurmond."

Clyde Stalvey of Georgetown, who used to fly Thurmond around the state and to and from Washington, said Thurmond was known for quietly getting airplanes to fly desperately ill children to special hospitals for treatment.

He remembered the senator often said he hoped to live long enough to have a grandchild. His wish was fulfilled a few weeks ago.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a former staff member for Sen. Thurmond, was permitted to interrupt on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about 11 p.m. Thursday in the middle of a debate.

"South Carolina has lost its greatest statesman," he said, choking back tears. "He can never be replaced."