Sarah E. Leverette was born December 28, 1919, in Iva to parents Allie McGee and Stephen Ernest Leverette. She received her Associate’s degree in 1938 from Anderson College; Bachelor’s degree in 1940 from the University of South Carolina; and her J.D., magna cum laude in 1943 from UofSC School of Law.
In 1947, Sarah began her long career as a law librarian at the UofSC School of Law, teaching legal writing and workers’ compensation law and was the first female faculty member. In 1967, she was appointed by Governor Robert E. McNair to a committee accountable for revising the SC State Constitution of 1895. Later she was appointed by Governor John C. West, Sr. and was tasked with writing the procedural outline for amending the South Carolina Constitution. After 25 years of tenure, she left her faculty position at the law school in 1972; and later that year accepted an appointment to the South Carolina Industrial Commission, now known as the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Sarah served on the Commission until 1978, which included a term as chair (1976-1977) and continued in a consulting role until 1985.
She was the 35th female admitted to the SC Bar. She was a member of the SC Women Lawyers’ Association and the American Association of University of Women. She was a Lt. Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and was a member of the Columbia League of Women Voters, where she served as president (1958-1961).
In 2018, she received the Platinum Compleat Lawyer Award from the UofSC School of Law and was an award winner of the Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network. In 2017, she received the Rev. Sen. Clementa C. Pickney Award for Justice from SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center. Sarah was a parishioner at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
Sarah E. Leverette died on August 29, 2018. She is survived by her niece, Diane L. Butler; nephew, Stephen Casey; great nieces, Catherine B. Perry, and Karen C. Pierre; great nephews, Stephen Casey, Jr., and William E. Phillips; and a great-great nephew, Charles B. Moore.