Clason retires after 50-year career in law enforcement

Clason retires after 50-year career in law enforcement
Submitted

Norma Clason sits at her desk at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, where she worked for 50 years while also working part-time for the coroner’s office for 23 years. Her dedication to public service was intertwined with her family’s legacy in law enforcement as she worked alongside her husband Rob, daughter Rachael Fuqua, two brothers Capt. Jim Gasser and Lt. Tom Gasser, and brother-in-law Capt. Gene Rhodes.

                        

Norma Clason’s commitment to law enforcement was always steadfast and strong. She began her career at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office while attending Norwayne High School. After graduating in 1974, then-Sheriff James Frost offered her a full-time secretarial position, a job she cherished for the next half-century.

“I didn’t plan on staying this long,” she said. “I have always enjoyed what I was doing, and it just worked out this way.”

As the sheriff’s office changed with the times, Clason was often the person who managed administrative tasks and provided support to deputies in the office. She frequently went above and beyond everyday secretarial work. She served as an assistant evidence custodian, searched female inmates at the previous jail location across the street, filled in as a cook in the 1980s when the jail kitchen was short-staffed and was selected as the union steward for the administrative personnel.

From the days of typewriters and filing cabinets to today’s digital systems, she embraced the change and implemented new tools and processes that have modernized the office.

“Some cases can really bother you, especially when they involve children,” Clason said. “I always felt that how I reacted to people and tried to understand their situation helped them a little. Not that it took away their pain, but they knew someone cared about them and what they were going through.”

Caseloads have increased over the years, but what stands out to Clason is the severity of the violence that has increased.

“Especially over the past few years, the cases have become much more serious than in the past,” she said. “There was a period when they weren’t quite as difficult as now. With the influx of drugs and the use of alcohol, it seems like domestic cases have increased, along with an increased need for mental health services.”

While Clason is retiring from the sheriff’s office, she isn’t done with law enforcement. She and her husband operate Falcon Investigative Services, a private investigation company where she will continue to work.

Dan Starcher is the public communications coordinator for Wayne County.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load