Three Decades on the Job

Sayers (top row, left) poses with other Centre County row officers in 2024 in front of the Centre County Courthouse

By

Mark Brackenbury, Town&Gown

–

May 28, 2026

Centre County coroner reflects on the change, challenges, and commitment to families

As Centre County Coroner Scott A. Sayers discusses the work of his office one morning in April, he

excuses himself to take a phone call.

A deputy is calling about a death in a residence, the third such case in the past 90 minutes.

“We’re getting slammed,” Sayers says after hanging up.

Such is the unpredictable nature of the job, but he’s used to it.

Sayers grew up around the death-care business. His grandfather and later an uncle owned the Dean K. Wetzler Funeral Home in Milesburg (since sold to Daughenbaugh Funeral Home), and Sayers lived two houses away.

Sayers, a licensed funeral director himself, is a 1985 graduate of Bald Eagle Area High School; he attended Lock Haven University and graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 1988. He was elected county coroner to fill a partial term in 1997, taking office in January 1998. He’s been reelected to seven four-year terms since (running unopposed since 2003) and plans to seek an eighth full term next year, which will be his 30^th year serving the county.

“Some of the law enforcement that I deal with on a daily basis will say, ‘You’re the only coroner we’ve ever worked with.’ That really shows my age here,” Sayers, 59, says with a laugh.

While he still has an active funeral director license and has handled embalming for immediate family and close friends, his county position otherwise keeps him too busy for that work.

As Centre County has grown, so has the caseload of the coroner’s office, from 434 in 1998 to 895 last year.

Sayers and his deputies investigate the manner and cause of death in cases including accidents (29 fatalities last year, including 10 drug overdoses), homicides (one), and suicides (17). But the vast majority of deaths — more than 800 last year — investigated by the coroner are similar to the three calls that April morning: natural deaths in homes where no physician is in attendance. The most common natural deaths investigated by the coroner last year were cardiac cases (230), followed by cancer (173) and respiratory illness (104).

The coroner also issues authorizations to funeral homes before any person whose death occurs in Centre County can be cremated.

Sayers and chief deputy John D. Kubalak are the only full-time coroners handling the county’s caseload. They are supplemented by a part-time first deputy, on-call 24 hours a week, and seven other “occasionally on-call” deputies who are asked to be available for 48 hours a month.

“If one of us are getting pounded, as we are right now, we try to call one of them to see if they’re available to come out to assist on another incident,” Sayers says.

The work of the office — and the region as a destination — will be in the spotlight when Centre County hosts the 2026 Pennsylvania State Coroners Association annual meeting and convention Sept. 20-26 at the Wyndham Garden State College in Boalsburg. The event is expected to draw coroners, along with family and friends, from all corners of the state. While the all-hours, on-call nature of the job isn’t easy, Sayers says helping grieving families “through the worst time in their lives” keeps him going. “Hopefully, we’ve succeeded in doing so with the families. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s very complimentary when a family says, when they see you, ‘Hey, thanks. You really helped me through a tough patch here.’” Here’s more from our conversation:

What’s the most challenging aspect of this job?

Sayers: Just constantly (being) on-call.

What’s a typical day like for you?

Sayers: You never know. There’s no set schedule. You just go with it. … Within an hour and a half (today), there’s been three home deaths. And then you might go a day without one. But then we’re in the office taking care of paperwork.

When it comes to an accident or a possible homicide, how do you work with law enforcement? What are your responsibilities versus what theirs are?

Sayers: We’re there to determine cause and manner of death, and they’re there for criminal prosecution. Our investigations sort of parallel each other, but we have separate roles. And we work very well and very closely with law enforcement, be it municipal or state police.

What are some of the factors that go into determining cause and manner of death?

Sayers: We go off information at the scene, medical history and records, (and) what families or witnesses can provide, if seen.

Are there any cases that stand out as the most memorable through your career?

Sayers: Oh, there’s a number of calls that stick out. One was in Jan. 2004, on Interstate 80 westbound between the Milesburg and Bellefonte exits, we had a whiteout condition and about 44 tractor-trailers and cars piled up with (six) deaths. There was fire. We were out there for close to two days. It happened Tuesday, and I don’t think the interstate opened up until Thursday after the wreckage was completely cleared.

Is there one case that was the most difficult for you?

Sayers: They’re all unique in their own way. In my first month (on the job in 1998), I had a cabin fire where three individuals died. And then within the first three months, I had a cabin fire (in Miles Township) where 11 young individuals passed away. Cell phone coverage where we were located still isn’t the greatest in that area, but it was way worse then. … Constantly getting paged and having to get down the road about a mile and stand on the vehicle, put your hand up or whatever, just to obtain cell coverage.

How do you handle notifying families of a death?

Sayers: You separate personal feelings. I’ll be honest and direct, not sugarcoat it. And depending on the situation, some families want to know more details than others. Some want to know the bare information. Others want to know details.

Do you do that in person, or does it depend on the case?

Sayers: Depends on the situation. Either myself will go out and make notification or I’ll have law enforcement, depending on where the family’s located and what we’re doing next with the deceased, if they’re going to be autopsied and things of that nature. And then if law enforcement does (the notification), or if (the deceased is from) out of the area, I’ll ask law enforcement to get a hold of that department wherever the family may be and go out and make notification, give them my name and number, and call me back with the next of kin’s name and number so I can reach out and speak with them.

Has this job, and being in this business through the years, changed your perspective on life?

Sayers: It just shows you how short life really is. We’re never given tomorrow. We have today. And (we may) not even make it through today. We just have this moment right now. And in the blink of an eye, it could be all over. But yeah, some people just don’t realize how short life is, unfortunately.

Does that change the way you live your life?

Sayers: Oh, yeah. As we get older or more knowledgeable, we sort of slow things down compared to when we were younger. Everybody was young at one time. And a good many ran a little on the wild side. But as we get older and see different things, you say, “Don’t need to be doing that.”

What’s the most satisfying aspect of this work to you?

Sayers: Helping families. … Many of them will go, “What do we do next? Where do we go from here?” and trying to help them through that next process. And being with the funeral business, that also goes sort of hand-in-hand with this office where you help families through the worst times of their lives. The very worst times of everybody’s lives is when they lose a family member or a loved one. And trying to help them work through that process. … Getting answers for them when they want to know information and give them a little peace of mind. T&G