More than 30 years ago, Tommy Davis was on his way out of Lithonia and searching for a new place to call home. He and his wife, Mary Evelyn, traveled across the metro in search of the right place, but nothing felt right. 

After checking out surrounding cities of Conyers, Monroe, Madison and Monticello, among others, the Davises kept finding themselves driving back through Newton County, back home to Lithonia without any luck. 

And then it finally hit them.

“We would go out and look for homes, and we would travel Henry County, Walton County, Rockdale County, and every time we were going back home, we were coming out of Newton County,” he said. “Everywhere we would go would bring us back to Newton County, no matter where … and I said, ‘Let’s just look here.’

“Newton County had about 65,000 people then, a great community, and I knew people here already,” Davis said. “I thought a lot of the community, and it was just the right place for us to raise our family.” 

Davis had been in and around the Newton County community all his life prior to taking up residency. In 1984, he started working in the funeral business at the age of 15, and that’s when he found himself connected to the Harwell Family, former owners of J.C. Harwell & Son Funeral Home.

Davis said he got into the funeral business as a help to a family-friend, who operated their own funeral home.

“His name was Doug Henry,” Davis recalled. “And he said, ‘Hey, if I get busy, would you come help me?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ 

“I remember the first time he ever called me to come help him. It was about 11 o’clock one night … and I enjoyed it. You know, people say, ‘Well, you’re crazy to enjoy something like that,’ but this is the last thing that you can do for anybody. And that’s what kind of hit me right out of the gate.”

Early on, Davis said he didn’t always want to work in the funeral business. He actually wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father and work in law enforcement, but health issues would hold him back. 

At 17 years old, just after he graduated high school, Davis was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors ruled he had liposarcoma in his legs. He underwent multiple surgical treatments over a 4 to 5 year period to have the cancer removed.

“By the time I had kind of gotten that all behind me, I was married, had a baby and already working in the funeral home, and so I just stayed in the funeral business,” Davis said.

Today, Davis is in his 11th year as owner and operator of J.C. Harwell & Son Funeral Home in Covington. He helped manage the funeral home for several years prior to becoming owner, Davis said. The funeral home has been a staple of the community, first opening its doors in 1893.

Davis also serves as Newton County’s coroner — a position he’s served in for more than 12 years now.

Davis started working at the coroner’s office in 2003 as deputy coroner under Bob Wheeler after the death of his father. Davis served in that capacity for five years, which helped groom him for the chief coroner position.

Davis was first elected in 2008, serving three full terms. In the 2020 General Election, Davis lost his reelection bid to challenger Dorothea Bailey-Butts. Embattled, then-coroner Bailey-Butts chose to resign from office in May of 2021. 

Davis previously told The Covington News that it takes “empathy, compassion and true understanding” to uphold the position of coroner. Davis was then appointed by Probate Judge Melanie Bell to assume the role of coroner and serve the remainder of Bailey-Butts’ unexpired term.

When the vacancy occurred, Davis said it wasn’t a difficult decision to take the job back, but it wasn’t an easy decision either.

“I’m not saying there was no hesitation or that it was an easy move,” Davis said. “But it was something that — I wasn’t going to leave the people of Newton County without a coroner. I wasn’t going to leave the people of Newton County without somebody with some experience as coroner. So, it wasn’t an uplifting moment. Nobody ever wants anybody to have to resign. But when it happened, I didn’t want to leave the county without a coroner.”

Outside of his work with the funeral home and the office of coroner, Davis enjoys volunteering and participating in civic work across the community. Davis has been a member and past president of Covington’s Rotary Club. He is a mason member of Golden Fleece Masonic Lodge No. 6, a member of the Elks Lodge and a member of the Lions Club. He is also a past board member of Project Renewal in Conyers.

“I try to give back as much as I get,” Davis said.

Davis and his family attend First Baptist Church of Covington. When he isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family, riding motorcycles, hunting and boating on the lake.