David William Jones, age 77 of Frankfort, passed away on October 2, 2019 . He was born April 10, 1942 in Somerset, Kentucky to the late George William Jones and Lena Pearl Neikirk. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and was a graduate of the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science in Louisville. After graduation, he worked at Tucker Funeral Home in Georgetown for nine years. He received a special recognition from the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky in 2016 for being a licensed Kentucky Funeral Director and Embalmer for over fifty years.

David enlisted in the Kentucky National Guard, where he served for over twenty years in various capacities with the 810th Convalescent Center, 470th Air Ambulance MedEvac, and Company C 42nd Aviation Combat Support.

He was employed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to serve as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office, a position he held for over thirty years. While there, he was responsible for the operations of the four Kentucky Medical Examiner's Offices located in Frankfort, Louisville, Madisonville, and Fort Thomas.

David was instrumental in organizing the Kentucky Coroner/ Medical Examiner Incident Response Team and assisted in organizing the National Disaster Mortuary Operations Response Team. He aided in hundreds of death investigations throughout Kentucky and other states, as well as the recovery of victims and incident morgue operations of numerous mass fatality incidents occurring in Kentucky including: the Scotia Coal Mine Explosion, the Beverly Hills Nightclub Fire; Air Canada Flight 737 Plane Fire; the Carrollton Bus Fire; the Pyro Coal Mine Explosion; and the Comair Flight 5191 Plane Crash. Following his retirement, David served as a consultant to the Kentucky Coroners and Medical Examiners.

He was presented a lifetime membership to the Kentucky Coroners Association and the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky. He was a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners and was the first non-physician to be elected by their membership to serve on their Board of Directors. David was a member of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and was presented an Associate Membership in the following State Coroner/Medical Examiner Associations: Illinois Coroners Association, California State Coroners Association, New York State Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, Indiana Coroners Association, and the Mississippi Coroner/Medical Examiner Association.

David was the recipient of numerous professional awards including: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Certificate of Achievement for dedication to services to the Commonwealth of Kentucky during times of crisis. He was the first person to receive the David J. Wolf Award presented annually by the Kentucky Coroners Association for outstanding service to the Kentucky Coroners and Deputy Coroners. In addition, he was the first person to receive the Dr. L. C. McCloud Award, presented annually by the Commonwealths Chief Medical Examiner to individuals who have provided exemplary service to the Kentucky Medical Examiners Office. David received both the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Recognition Award for thirty years of outstanding service to the Cabinets Medical Examiner Office, as well as the National Association of Medical Examiners Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding service to the Association.

David William Jones is survived by his wife Connie Jones; a daughter Candi  Whitmer (Blaine) of Bowling Green; a step-daughter Carrie Reed (Adam) of Frankfort; a step-son Nick Grugin of Frankfort; two brothers George Phillip Jones (Gayle) of Danville and Larry Kent Jones (Janet) of Fairdale; two grand children Lauren and Zachary Whitmer of Bowling Green; brother-in-law Richard Dils (Martha) of Farmersburg, Ohio; sister-in-law Suzanne Bentley of Urbana, Ohio.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson Josh Whitmer; niece Melissa Jones; nephew Shawn Jones, and brother-in-law Jerry Bentley.

Visitations will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 211 Washington St. in Frankfort, KY on Monday, October 7th from 5- 8 pm, as well as Tuesday, October 8th from 9:30- 11 am.  A Celebration of David's Life will be held immediately following Tuesday's visitation at 11 am.  The service will be led by Dr. Phil Hill, Dr. Jackson Brewer and Dr. George Nichols.  Burial with military honors will be in the Frankfort Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be Danny Coomer, Mike Wilder, Wendell Combs, Dr. George Nichols, Dr. John Hunsaker, and Jimmy Pollard.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Kentucky Coroners and Deputy Coroners, (Past and present); Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office Staff (Past and Present) and Kentucky Funeral Directors.

Expressions of sympathy can be made to the First United Methodist Church Building Fund, 211 Washington St., Frankfort, KY 40601 or Gary Sinise Foundation, PO Box 368, Woodland Hills, CA 91365.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Ritchie & Peach Funeral Home in Lawrenceburg, KY.