Former Alabama state Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville has died.

Sharon Wheeler, a longtime friend who volunteered on Bedford’s campaigns and worked for him in the Senate, said Bedford died in DCH Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. Wheeler said Bedford had been at DCH since he was diagnosed with cancer in late September.

“I’ve never heard him say a negative thing about anybody,” Wheeler said. “He was positive and hard-working. As Senator (Hank) Sanders said, it’s hard work being Roger Bedford, but he just makes it look so easy because Bedford was just a working machine.”

Bedford, a Democrat, represented a northwest Alabama district for 32 years before losing a reelection bid to Republican Larry Stutts by 70 votes in 2014. Bedford was a lawyer and was one of the Senate’s most influential members when Democrats controlled the chamber, a period that ended in 2010.

Bedford had survived a previous bout with cancer and other physical challenges, including a broken neck. He was still practicing law when he became ill, Wheeler said.

“That’s why it seems impossible that he’s passed because he’s overcome so much,” Wheeler said.