PICKENS — Cannon Memorial Hospital will honor the life and service of Michael Siders, a devoted and skilled clinician that served every patient with kindness and compassion, with a blood and teddy bear drive on Monday, July 28, from 2-6 p.m. at the Cannon Wellness Annex at 865 Pendleton St. in Pickens.

The community may donate blood and/or a teddy bear to the cause. Siders was known as the “big teddy bear” by colleagues, and the teddy bears will be donated to a local charity to place smiles on the faces of local children. AnMed Health will coordinate the blood drive and provide T-shirts. The community may also write a personal note of support to the family and place it in the “box of encouragement.”

Siders, 43, of 206 Frances Canon Drive, passed away on Tuesday, June 17. Born in Gallipolis, Ohio, on April 19, 1971, he was the son of Carl W. and Loretta Jean Siders of Anderson. He was married to Nicole New Siders of the residence. In addition to his beloved wife and his parents, Siders left behind a son, Benjamin Michael Siders of Clemson; two daughters, Sydney Nicole Siders of Clemson, and Madison Noelle Chastain of the residence; two brothers, Paul Siders of Charlotte, N.C., and Chris Siders and his wife, Donna, of Murrells Inlet; and a sister, Carla S. Smith and her husband, Jeff, of Brown Summit, N.C.

Cannon employees remember Siders’ upbeat personality and how much everyone enjoyed working with him. Siders also had a profound impact on the Pickens community. Patients warmly expressed that “Michael took excellent care of my family in the ER.”

EMS works said Siders “was always so nice” to them and all the patients they brought in, “even those some would consider just the regulars.”

Norman Rentz, president and CEO, while expressing Cannon’s loss, chose a quote from Abraham Lincoln to illustrate the legacy of Siders.

“I like to see a man proud of the place he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him,” Rentz added, “Michael’s place — Cannon Memorial Hospital — can certainly be proud of him and the impact he had on our employees and our community. This is no doubt a loss we will all feel for a very long time.”

Siders graduated from Westside High School and subsequently graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.S. degree in sports science. While attending Wake Forest, he played football on a full athletic scholarship. Siders was a registered nurse at Cannon and worked part time at Self Memorial Hospital in Greenwood. At both hospitals he served as an ER charge nurse. Siders was a member of New Spring Church. He loved his friends and his family, all of whom he cherished dearly.