Given the high-profile trips to meet with foreign leaders and the golf games with the president, it still surprised Edward Reynolds, the fire chief of Central, S.C., whenever he bumped into Senator Lindsey Graham at home.
His question, Mr. Reynolds recalled, was always the same: “You taking care of Central?”
“It’s hard to believe he’s gone,” Mr. Reynolds said Sunday. “He was not shy about his love for this place.”
Mr. Graham was shaped by an upbringing in the back of the bar that his parents owned in this small town in western South Carolina, before climbing the political ranks in his home state and then catapulting to the forefront of Congress. There, he wielded the gavels of some of the most influential committees and helped push millions of dollars home to military bases, infrastructure and other state needs.
With his sudden death, announced early Sunday, South Carolina leaders were reeling from the loss of a political fixture who had helped elevate their state to some of the world’s most powerful rooms. Leaders and supporters must now contend with the loss of Mr. Graham’s seniority, influence and relationships.
“South Carolina has always been a smaller, rural state that manages to punch above its weight when it comes to electing nationally consequential public officials,” said Rob Godfrey, a longtime South Carolina Republican political strategist. “It’s a legacy Senator Graham embodies.”
There is no question that Mr. Graham rankled some with his political shape-shifting. But his at-times folksy approach, longstanding relationships and adept use of senatorial seniority helped ensure he was likely to secure a fifth term. (Last month, Mr. Graham easily held off a cluster of primary challengers.)
“We shall not see his likes again,” said Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, a Republican, who called Mr. Graham “irreplaceable” in a statement early Sunday.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is widely expected to succeed Mr. McMaster in the governor’s mansion as the Republican nominee, said Mr. Graham had “carried our state’s values with him everywhere he went.”
There was some pride in how Mr. Graham, raised in this small working-class town of roughly 5,200 near Clemson University, had come to wield influence in Washington and abroad. Some residents still saw a familiar sense of humor in his public speeches and congressional hearings.
“I think everything about Lindsey you can trace back to the way he grew up,” said Bob McAlister, a former adviser to Mr. Graham. And his contributions to the state, he added, were “too numerous to mention.”
Later as an adult, Mr. Graham would return to Central to play football with old high school classmates, or attend funerals for parents of his friends.
“You got the feeling you could talk to him about anything,” said Al Cumbie, 74, a former mayor of the conservative-leaning town who grew up with Mr. Graham.
And as he directed money from Washington back home, he still included Central. He helped set aside about $2 million for Central’s new fire station, which will be built next spring.
“He’s given us a lot,” said Mr. Reynolds, the fire chief in Central, standing near the bar where Mr. Graham grew up — now a Mexican restaurant.
Even with the jockeying already underway to replace him, many political observers were in agreement that his position on behalf of South Carolina had been singular. State Representative Davey Hiott, the majority leader, said in an interview that “it’ll be something that the state of South Carolina feels for a long time.”
Residents in South Carolina were also grappling with what leadership in the state would look like without Mr. Graham, who was first elected to Congress in 1994.
“He’s kind of known by everybody around here, so I feel like it’ll be a change to have someone else in charge,” said Gracin Murphy, 20, a veterinary assistant from Westminster, S.C.
James Pyles, 58, who lives near Seneca, S.C., called it “a great loss” for the state.
“There were some flaws here and there, but every man has his flaws,” he said. He added, “That’s going to be some big shoes to fill.”
As the Republican Party lurched rightward, particularly as President Trump took hold of the base, Mr. Graham was not always embraced by the conservative wing. Some voters mistrusted his record of willingness to work with Democrats, as well as his consistent support for aggressive military action abroad and his early criticism of Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign.
On Sunday, the mayor of Central, Ken Dill, said he remembered when Mr. Graham announced his candidacy for president in 2015. Main Street, normally sleepy, bustled with American flags, banners and music.
“I’ve been lucky so much of my life,” Mr. Graham said that day. “But never luckier than in the people and place I come from.”
Alison Hill contributed reporting from Seneca, S.C.
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