MALVERN — As a kid growing up in the small Hot Spring County community of Glen Rose, Aaron Davis never dreamed of becoming a funeral director or the county coroner. Now he is both.
“I never thought I would get into the funeral business as a kid,” said Davis, 44, who is a funeral director at Atkinson Funeral Home in Malvern.
“I wanted to be in law enforcement, work for the FBI or be an attorney. I love forensics.
“God led me to this,” he said.
“Now I am the Hot Spring County coroner,” he said. “I never would have run for this office if it had not been for all the people who came to me and asked me to run.
“I hope to change this office for the better,” he said. “I want the people to be proud of the Hot Spring County coroner’s office, and I want them to know what we do. I want the citizens to know that we are here to help.”
Davis, who ran as a Republican, won the general election Nov. 8, 2016, and was sworn in Jan. 1. He said all coroners in the state are elected, except in two or three counties, where they are appointed.
“I am the chief death investigator for the county. I investigate all deaths and keep records of all deaths. I coordinate with law enforcement agencies,” he said.
“If it’s a crime scene, I like to step up and help families. With my funeral-director experience, I feel it is a ministry to help these families at the most vulnerable time of their lives,” Davis said.
“I have to attend all deaths, even those of natural causes, in the hospital, home, nursing home … wherever. I have to keep up with all deaths,” he said.
“I’ve been doing emergency medical sciences for 24 years,” Davis said. “I’ve worked in ambulances and in emergency rooms.
“I started out with Pafford Emergency Medical Services after I graduated from the Arkansas Fire Academy in 1991, where I received my EMT-A (Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance) certification,” he said. “I was a medical officer for Gum Springs Fire and Rescue from 2008-2010.”
Davis served as a police chaplain for the Malvern Police Department and the Rockport Police Department from 1997-2000. He was also a volunteer firefighter for the Glen Rose Fire Department from 1988-1993.
Davis completed further EMT training through the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences program in the College of Health Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock in 2005 and received his certification by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
He received his NREMT Intermediate EMT license from the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope in 2009.
“I got into the funeral business in 1996,” Davis said. “I started part time while I was doing EMS work. I got back into it a couple of years ago. I am a licensed funeral director.”
Davis also has an associate degree in Bible studies from Agape Bible College in Little Rock.
As the Hot Spring County coroner, Davis has the help of several deputy coroners, who are all volunteers. They include Ben Chapman, who works for the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory; Magen Carlin, who works at Atkinson Funeral Home; Chad Ledbetter, who works at Baptist Health Medical Center; and Heath Dickson, who works for the Malvern Police Department.
“If I am not available, one of them will go [to the scene of a death],” Davis said. “All of them will have had the same training as I have as a medicolegal death investigator. That certification can be obtained through the state or through a national organization.”
Davis said he plans to take the National Medicolegal Death Investigators training course at St. Louis University.
“First, I will take the course offered through the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy [in Camden],” he said. “Then, I want all of my deputies to take the course. I want them to have the same training that I receive.”
Davis said he “would like to see all of the coroner’s deputies be professional, well-trained and compensated for what they do.
“I believe I have a good group of deputies right now. I hope to get these deputies paid. I need to get it into the budget.”
Davis said he wants to become certified and get his deputies certified, as Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Investigators.
“Free training is available in Saline County,” he said. “The coroner there is a friend and is the new president of the Arkansas Coroners’ Association. I am meeting soon with him about doing training with my deputies on crime-scene awareness and preservation. That body belongs to us; the crime scene belongs to law enforcement.”
A lifelong resident of Hot Spring County, Davis is a son of Paul R. “Bo” and Becky Davis.
He graduated from Glen Rose High School in 1991. He has one sister, Stephanie Davis of Malvern.
When he is not working, Davis enjoys amateur radio, being outdoors, motorcycle riding and traveling.
He attends Lifepoint Church in Malvern. He is a member of the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, Christians United for Israel, Boys Town (a children’s ministry), the Arkansas Coroners’ Association and the Arkansas EMT Association.