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February 22, 2012

Murray County deputy dies starting work day

Mark Millican markmillican@daltoncitizen.com

A longtime Murray County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was known as being “professional” and “dependable” died of an apparent heart attack Monday morning while preparing to start his work day, his superiors said.

Jacky Head, 46, had worked with the sheriff’s office since 1999, Sheriff Howard Ensley said.

“It’s a tragedy and a great loss to our department,” said Ensley, who recalled Head started work at the department as a jailer, went through mandate school in 2001 and was later promoted to deputy sheriff. He served in court services and as a school resource officer before going on the road answering calls in 2004.

Head also worked part time with Murray County Emergency Medical Services.

“He was a great guy, as dependable an employee as we have,” Ensley said. “The special thing about him was he always wanted to help, to try to make things better, to help someone. I can’t say enough good things about him. If he went on an assignment or a call somewhere you wouldn’t have to worry about it. He would handle it with diplomacy and professionalism. We are keeping his family in our prayers.”

Chief Deputy Ray Sitton said an autopsy report is pending, but it is thought Head died of a heart attack, having experienced one around 10 years ago.

“He was getting ready to come to work — he was dressed, went out to crank his car to let it warm up, went back into the house and just fell over,” Sitton said.

Alan Robbins, the deputy coroner for Murray County, said Head called him Saturday to tell him he had found something Robbins was looking for.

“I didn’t even realize he was looking for it, but he heard that I was so he started searching on his own,” he said. “That’s the kind of guy he was — he’d do anything for you.”

Robbins said when Head began hanging around EMS as “just a kid,” no one envisioned him becoming an EMT and eventually a sheriff’s deputy.

“He’d been with EMS around 13 years, I guess,” Robbins said, “and he became a very good EMT and deputy. He always did his job. He believed in that — doing your job no matter how unpleasant the task. Jacky was also very honest, and he could sometimes be humorous because he was so brutally honest.”

Funeral services are Friday at 2 p.m. at Holly Creek Baptist Church. Burial will follow in Free Hope Cemetery with military honors for Head, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Arrangements are by Shawn Chapman Funeral Home & Crematory in Chatsworth.

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