Daviess County Coroner Jeff Jones has announced his intention to seek re-election, aiming to continue a career in public service that has spanned more than four decades.
Jones, 60, is finishing his fourth term as coroner. He previously served 25 years with the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office before retiring and being elected to his current role.
“My entire adult life has been basically serving the community,” Jones said. “I was raised by a single mother who taught us that you give more than you take, and so I feel like myself and the staff that I have can certainly make a difference in the capacity that we do.”
Jones said many residents aren’t aware of the investigative responsibilities his team carries out.
“We are, by statute, required to investigate the cause and manner of when individuals have passed away,” he said. “Not all cases are considered a coroner’s case, but by law, there are certain cases that mandate an investigation by my office.”
Those include deaths related to homicide, suicide, drug overdoses, drownings, and other situations where the cause or manner of death is not immediately clear.
“A lot of times people think all we do is just sign the death certificates when someone’s passed,” Jones said. “In reality, we do a lot of extended work in determining why that person passed away. We use medical records, and sometimes it may require sending an individual for an autopsy. We take all the information that we can gather surrounding the circumstances and ultimately come to a conclusion as to what the cause and manner is.”
Jones said not everyone is suited for the emotional and mental demands of the job, but he feels called to it.
“I give credit that the good Lord has blessed me with the ability to serve with compassion,” he said. “The hard ones are the younger people, a child — those are certainly the hard cases. I’ve always said that I was blessed with the ability, and my staff deserves a lot of credit. Everyone does their job with compassion and dignity to the individual who has passed, as well as to the family.”
Over the years, Jones said he has seen an increase in overdose-related deaths and has tried to use his position to help address the underlying causes.
“I’ve attempted to expand the duties of what I do and also promote prevention programs and work with nonprofit organizations that promote mental health as well as substance abuse awareness,” he said. “Those types of deaths are the ones we want to try to prevent. Unfortunately, we’re not always successful in that, but if we could make a difference in one person, then I think it’s all worthwhile.”
In addition to his local role, Jones serves as president of the Kentucky Coroners Association. He said one of his biggest priorities has been improving education and training standards for coroners and deputy coroners across the state.
“We’re attempting across the state to improve the in-service training that deputies and coroners receive — to educate people on the role of the coroner and to use technology,” he said. “It’s an ever-evolving field. Years ago, when I was investigating cases with the sheriff’s office, we didn’t have the technology that exists today. DNA was just coming around. We constantly have to be utilizing new technology to completely investigate and ultimately come up with the cause.”
Jones said he wants to keep finding ways to make the office more effective and to maintain the professionalism and integrity that have guided him throughout his career.
“I feel very fortunate to have served in the capacity that I have over the years, both with the sheriff’s office and certainly in this role as coroner,” he said. “I want to continue the process of making things better and to do it with the respect and dignity that individuals deserve.”
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