Richard Evans Sale, 83, of Florence, died Sept. 13, 2017.

A native of Richmond, Va., he earned degrees from Mars Hill University and Baylor University and a master of arts degree from West Georgia University. He also attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and was a graduate of the FBI Academy’s chaplain training course in Quantico, Va.

He served as senior pastor and in other church staff positions in Georgia, Texas and Kentucky, and was chaplain for the Florence Police Department since 1980. At the time of his death, he was interim administrator and a member of Florence First Baptist Church.

In 1976, he began his 41-year ministry as a Southern Baptist chaplain. He served as a chaplain at the Baptist Medical Center in Columbia, McLeod Medical Center in Florence, and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety Center in Columbia.

He was chosen as a charter member in the first class of FBI chaplains and served in several disaster zones during his career, including the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

He was formerly South Carolina Baptist Convention coordinator of chaplain ministries. He also served as a mentor, trainer and adviser to the North American Mission Board chaplaincy program.

Survivors include one son and five grandchildren.