Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Schleifer, Lulloff, Carl, Rochester, Keller
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 6/15/2022
Coroner Schleifer to Retire (43 Yrs. - 2022)
Richard Schleifer, shown here with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators certificate, is retiring after 43 combines years as deputy coroner and coroner for Clark County. Valorie Brecht/Clark County Press
By Valorie Brecht
After serving his community diligently for more than four decades as either county coroner or deputy coroner, Richard Schleifer is turning the page to the next chapter in his life. Schleifer plans to complete his four-year term at the end of this year and not see reelection.
Schleifer served 21 years as deputy coroner to the late Bob Lulloff, including as chief deputy. When Lulloff retired, Schleifer decided to run for coroner. He started in 2000 and has held the position since.
“I had opposition after the first two years, but after that I ran unopposed,” said Schleifer.
“Now after 43 years, it’s time to let someone else do it,” he added.
As coroner, Schleifer’s duty is to pronounce death and determine the cause of death. There are other officials that can pronounce death like a hospice nurse, physician or physician’s assistant under the direction of a physician, but Schleifer takes the majority of the calls. Schleifer also provides resources to the grieving family members left behind, such as the contact information for local funeral homes.
“It’s not that you want to see people at a bad time. But if you can help families at a bad time, that makes it worth it,” he said.
Schleifer typically has one to three calls a day, with eight to 10 calls per week or more. Of course, that number ebbs and flows.
“It’s one of those things that’s highly unpredictable,” said Schleifer.
He said it’s been a good retirement job because of its sporadic nature. Some days there are no calls. However, he also is “on call” all the time.
“It’s a 24/7 job. If the phone rings at 2 or 3 in the morning, you have to respond. But it goes with the territory,” he said.
Of course, attending to the scene where the person died is only one part of the job. In the event the person wasn’t already in hospice care and there wasn’t an immediately identifiable cause, Schleifer has to piece together clues as to what exactly was the cause of death.
“I go through their medical history and records, and work off of that. It takes a lot of time. Sometimes I have to consult with the doctor. I work as a team with the sheriff’s office and the police departments. I can’t say enough good things about them---I’ve always had a good relationship with the police departments and the sheriff’s office,” he said.
If the death involves suspected trauma or foul play of some sort, the body is sent to Ramsey, MN for an autopsy, the results of which are used for Schleifer to make his determination.
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that the toxicology report [testing the body for prescription medications and drugs of abuse] can take one to two months to come back. So it’s not like the crime shows people watch where they get the results right away,” Schleifer explained.
Typically, the pathologist will have findings in the autopsy that point toward a cause of death, but if the pathologist can’t come up with anything, the cause of death will likely be left as “undetermined.” However, those cases are rare, Schleifer said.
Schleifer has been aided in his coroner job by his medical experience. He served for 37 years as director of the Neillsville Ambulance Service and worked 28 years at the hospital as a nursing assistant. He is a registered medicolegal death investigator through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, obtaining his certification in 2010. He took classes through the St. Louis College of Forensics. Wisconsin does not require any specific license for medical examiners or coroners, but Schleifer felt the extra education was beneficial.
Schleifer also served on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Coroners and Medical Examiners Association for four years. He has completed continuing education classes and gone to conferences throughout the years.
Schleifer extended appreciation to the various individuals who have helped him over the course of his career, including his three deputy coroners: Francis Carl, who has worked with him 22 years; his daughter Clarissa Rochester, who’s worked with him more than 12 years; and Larry Keller, who’s worked with him over eight years. He also expressed gratitude to the sheriff’s office and police departments “for all their cooperation and good help. It was a privilege working with them.”
He offered appreciation to t he local funeral directors at Cuddie’s, Gesche’s, Hansen-Schilling and Life Tributes for all of their help.
“I also need to thank my wife [of 64 years], Patricia, for putting up with me when I’m on call all the time,” he said.
Schleifer and his wife have six living children and one deceased. They also have 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Schleifer said it’s “very bittersweet” to be leaving his role, but he is looking forward to having more free time to spend with his family.
The deadline to file paperwork to run for county office was June 1. No one filed to run for coroner.
