Rusty Clevenger
Chances are you will never meet Rusty Clevenger during his daytime work, and most likely would never want to.
He is Spartanburg County’s long-time coroner – now in his 18th year in the same position. And more than just certifying the cause of death for victims of car crashes, hit-and-runs, violence, and all kinds of natural causes, Clevenger is the kind of official who does his best to keep you from ever having to meet him at a bad end.
“We’ve had 1,900 cases just this year so far,” said Clevenger, now in his fifth term of elected office. “In the past 18 years, we’ve had more than 50,000 total. And we operate 24/7.”
If it sounds far too overwhelming, consider first that Clevenger is not only part of a team, but wouldn’t trade his job for any other: this August will mark his 41st year with Spartanburg County government, including previous service with the Sheriff’s office – meaning that he is the kind of rarity whose entire professional career has been in one place.
“I’m from Spartanburg originally, and chose to raise my family and be a part of the fabric of this community,” he said. “I just happened to be born right where I wanted to be.”
The role of coroner, however, was several decades in the making – and had its beginnings for him almost before he started school.
“My grandfather passed away suddenly when I was 6, and my father helped me through the process, and showed me how valuable that was,” he said.
He took his first forensics class in 1987, then followed in the example of a favorite family member.
“Growing up, I had an uncle who was a Sheriff’s deputy,” he said. “I’ve always had a strong investigative mind, and my first day on the job, I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
For the next 20 years, Clevenger investigated all kinds of deaths – accidental, violent, natural, and suspicious – always working with the Coroner’s office.
“One day, the current coroner asked me if I would like to consider taking over when he retired,” Clevenger said, adding that he wasn’t sure at first about the move. “I saw the same things working death cases that he saw. But there’s a whole litany of administrative procedures that have to be followed.”
But in 2008, Clevenger made the transition – and while most of us could not handle his kind of work, the position of coroner and all that it demands and entails is exactly what he had been working toward, even when he didn’t know he was heading in that direction.
“I remember seeing a fight once and not being able to do anything about it, no authority to get in the middle of it,” he explained. “But when you see an injustice and are empowered to help someone, it just clicked. So if somebody’s been made a victim, I or a member of my staff is there to help them out.”
That help involves a world of duties, which for all South Carolina coroners include:
• Conducting on-site investigations of sudden, violent, or suspicious deaths.
• Examining the deceased to determine the cause and manner of death.
• Obtaining and reviewing relevant medical records, toxicology reports, and other evidence.
• Notifying the next-of-kin and releasing the deceased to a funeral home.
• Preparing official death certificates and providing necessary information to families, law enforcement, and other agencies.
• Testifying in court or other legal proceedings as necessary.
• Maintaining accurate records of all death investigations and reporting to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Altogether, Clevenger’s role is crucial in ensuring that the cause and manner of death is accurately determined and that the rights and interests of families and the public are protected.
When asked the biggest cause of violent death seen so far, Clevenger indicated the outbreak of opioid use that started before COVID.
He was the only state coroner appointed by former state Gov. Nikki Haley in 2014, to be part of a team of surgeons, dentists, pharmacists, and other health professionals to formulate a plan on how to combat the problem “which now is no longer an issue.”
But when further asked about the biggest preventable cause of death, Clevenger said, “Traffic fatalities, which we’re still combating.”
Based on a report by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, Spartanburg County ranked first in South Carolina in 2025 in traffic fatalities — with 71 lives lost – and 34 so far this year, 12 more than any other county.
Sheriff Bill Rhyne, Solicitor Barry Barnette, representatives from the South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Clevenger all came together on May 21 to deliver this message: Crashes, fatalities, injuries, and family grief that follows could be greatly reduced or even eliminated if drivers would simply stop aggressive driving, distracted driving, impaired driving, and high speeding.
And Clevenger has taken it upon himself to go one step further: to implement a National Highway Traffic Safety program to educate “our students on the dangers of looking away from the road for 2 seconds, and give them the ability to calculate just how far that is in feet-per-second, so they can make good choices.”
“I can’t emphasize how important it is in getting our motoring public to realize speeding,” he said. “Because you are a few minutes late is not worth your life, or severe injury to yourself or another motorist.”
It’s a long way from medieval England when the role of coroner was established under the reign of King Richard I.
But through all the years and changes and innovations, such as computerization and faster tracking methods, one thing Clevenger said has remained consistent is the compassion needed for victims, and his pursuit of the truth.
“There is always more than one or even two sides to a story,” he said. “I like to take the time to figure out the truth of a case, run down leads, find out all the facts, and do justice for the people involved through science and information. The demands now are stronger, but everything I do for Spartanburg has been for service and love of this county. And I appreciate the opportunity every minute.”
