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MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (ACH, AP) -- South Carolina Rep. David Umphlett has died.

Russell Funeral Chapel said the Moncks Corner Republican died Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 69.

Umphlett was first elected to the Statehouse in 2002 and retired as vice president for government and consumer affairs at Berkeley Electric Co-op two years later.

Umphlett made outdoors issues one of his primary interests in the House. He pushed legislation creating an alligator hunting season in South Carolina and backed a law that banned so-called "river shacks," floating cabins on the state's waterways with no toilets.

“The people of Berkeley County – and indeed the people of our state – have lost a true public servant and friend," Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday.  "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of David Umphlett. He will be missed.”

Umphlett was a Clemson University graduate and served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1964.

Visitation will be at 5 p.m. Monday and his funeral 2 p.m. Tuesday at Moncks Corner United Methodist Church.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)