Westmoreland coroner appoints new chief deputy

The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office has a new chief deputy.

Newly elected Coroner Tim Carson announced Monday that he has tabbed Scottdale funeral director James Jacquillard as his second-in-command. Jacquillard, 50, has been a licensed funeral director for 28 years. He is a supervisor and funeral director at Graft-Jacquillard Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc. of Scottdale.

“He’s a good fit, and I’m really excited about this hire,” Carson said.

Carson said he has known Jacquillard since they were young kids and attended church together. Both graduated from Southmoreland High School.

“We grew up together in the same town at the same time,” said Carson, who still lives in their hometown and runs a catering business.

Jacquillard attended California University of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, where he graduated with a degree in Funeral Service Management. He is a member of the Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong County Funeral Directors Association and the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and serves as a board member for the Regional Family YMCA of Laurel Highlands.

Jacquillard’s annual salary will be $56,116. He replaces former chief deputy Kirk Nolan, who resigned.

Carson, a first-term Republican, took office in early January after his victory last fall in which he ousted Democrat Ken Bacha, who had served as coroner for two decades. Carson said he expects to hire at least one more deputy coroner in the coming days. The office lost 40% of its full-time staff in February after Nolan’s resignation and the retirement of long-time deputy coroner John Ackerman.

All of Bacha’s staff, which included five full-time deputies and six part-time positions, were initially retained by Carson to oversee death investigations in the county. The office is staffed around the clock.

“I conducted interviews last week, and the other guys have picked up the slack and they do a heck of a job,” Carson said.