David Shelton

In 2015, David Shelton lost a child to opioid addiction when his 26-year-old son Ryan died of an overdose. Ryan was a massive Clemson fan, and his ashes are buried across the street from The Hill at Death Valley and in Lake Hartwell.

Three weeks ago, Shelton lost another son to addiction when son Justin, also 26, died of a heroin overdose while living in a tent city behind a Wal-Mart.

The first time it happened, David was embarrassed and ashamed and dealt with the torturous grief privately.

This time, he's determined to make a second unfathomable loss as public as he can in hopes of serving his community and preventing the same thing from happening to others.

Shelton is a longtime sportswriter for The Post and Courier newspaper, covering high schools and small colleges.