As
Chairman of the State Election Commission, as a member of the Richland County
Board of Assessment Appeals, through his professional real estate involvement
and church and civic work, Rusty DePass has learned how to lead by serving his
community.
William
Brunson (“Rusty”) DePass, Jr., was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
September 8, 1947, the son of Kathryn Macaulay DePass and the late William
Brunson DePass. He attended
Winthrop Training School, an experimental school for Winthrop College student
teachers, through the eighth grade and was graduated from Woodberry Forest
School in Virginia in 1966. He
received the B. A. degree in History from Clemson University in 1969.
At Clemson he was a member of the Numeral Society, Sigma Alpha Epsilon,
Blue Key, Tiger Brotherhood, president of the College Republicans and listed in Who’s
Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.
After working in a political campaign in 1970 and a brief stint as the
mail clerk at the Henderson Advertising Agency in Greenville, he entered the
United States Army for a two year active duty obligation in connection with a
commission earned in college ROTC. His
duty stations were Fort Eustis and Fort Story in Virginia, the Second Infantry
Division in the Republic of Korea, and Fort Jackson. He received the Army Commendation Medal for his service
in Korea.
Upon release from the Army, he went to work with his brother-in-law in
his commercial real estate business, William Durham Company.
When a Charleston oral surgeon named Jim Edwards decided to run for
governor, Rusty as chosen to run his campaign “because I was available and
because I was cheap!” Edwards’ victory brought an opportunity to work in the
governor’s office and in national politics inasmuch as Edwards was one of only
two governors supporting Governor Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential bid.
Reagan lost in 1976 but Rusty was hooked and became an admiring disciple.
During the balance of the Edwards governorship, DePass served as State
Liaison Officer for the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service and
administered millions of dollars for recreational development in South Carolina
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
His proudest achievement was the part he played in developing and
awarding the grant for Columbia’s Riverfront Park, which has become a key
element of Congaree Vista development.
Returning to the real estate business in 1980, DePass has been active in
civic and professional pursuits. He
earned the prestigious CCIM designation from the National Association of
Realtors’ Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute in 1997, is a member of
the South Carolina Association of Realtors and served as president of the
Commercial Division of the Greater Columbia Board of Realtors. He served as a member of the Richland County Board of
Assessment Appeals and has been
associated with the firm of Wilson/Kibler, Inc., since 1988.
He
served as president of the Columbia Rotary Club, in which he is a Paul Harris
Fellow, the St. Andrew’s Society of the City of Columbia, the Columbia Torch
Club and the Columbia Tip Club. He
is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cooperative Ministry and a former
member of the Advisory Board of the Palmetto Project and the Board of Directors
of the Mid-Carolina Mental Health Association.
He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of
Confederate Veterans and the American Legion.
He has served as Chairman and State Executive Committeeman for the
Richland County Republican Party, is listed in Who’s Who in American
Politics and was one of South Carolina’s presidential electors in 1984,
casting his vote for the Reagan-Bush ticket.
By appointment of Governor Campbell he was a member of the Joint
Legislative Election Law Study Committee and was Chairman of the State Election
Commission for seven years, which tenure was noteworthy for the involvement of
the agency in the largest and most successful voter registration drive in the
history of the state.
A Ruling Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia (Associate
Reformed Synod), he has served as Chairman of the Diaconate, Superintendent of
the Sunday School and President of the Men’s Bible Class, and has represented
the church at meetings of Catawba Presbytery and the General Synod of the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
He is married to the former Susan Gay Parker, daughter of former State Senator Marshall J. Parker of Seneca, and is the father of three children: Brunson DePass, a student at Western Carolina University; Martha, who will be returning to Clemson University after working on the campaign this semester; and Caroline, who is in the eleventh grade at Dreher High School. The DePasses live in the Lake Katherine area of the city of Columbia.