I cannot tell you about Angelic Touch Mortuary Services without telling you about the Angel in our midst. 

On December 14, 2003, God blessed our family with our own little angel on earth, Davarius Jaloni Shields, affectionately called DJ.  From the time his big pretty eyes met ours, we knew he was something special. DJ was full of energy. He loved playing with his big brother, directing the choir from his seat at church and his favorite treat was honey buns. DJ lit up every room he bounced into. He would give tight squeezed hugs and a smile that would soften the coldest of hearts. 

On February 8, 2006, after a tragic fire in his home, God decided to take DJ to be with him at the tender age of two. This was by far the hardest day, most painful day of my life. It was the first death that really hit home and let me know that death is real. I was literally numb. The day of his funeral service, I remember walking down the aisle with my family and something came over me. I now know that it was DJ’s sweet spirit, letting me know that he was ok and not to cry. I knew I had to be strong for my sister, my nephew, and the rest of my family. The pain that death can bring is unthinkable. I wanted to be the person to help grieving families through the most difficult thing we experience as humans. The following fall, I enrolled into Mortuary School at Ogeechee Technical College. It was then when I found my purpose. 

My Mom and Daddy always said, “A Jack of all trades is a master of none”, so when I enrolled in Mortuary School, I wanted to learn everything. It was somewhat therapeutic to me because DJ was and will forever be my “Why”.   I took much pride in my practices to become a licensed funeral director and embalmer. I was blessed to be taught by the greatest to ever do it, Mr. Joe Wright. He and his son James took me in as their apprentice at Wright Memorial Mortuary and I realized I had found my passion…. My calling to fulfill.

After spending 6 years there at Wright Memorial, I decided to see how the funeral business was ran in the corporate world. In 2014, I began my journey with the largest funeral service provider in the nation, Service Corporation International. I worked with many great people, traveled to many places and most of all, I learned so much.  I spent 6 years there and held multiple titles from Embalmer to Service Manager, and even managed to obtain my bachelor’s degree in business management during my time there. 

After toying with the idea for many years, in 2020, I made it official and started Angelic Touch Mortuary Services. I wanted to be able to serve wherever there was a need. This endeavor allowed me to utilize my professional experience to offer a helping hand to funeral home owners who need assistance short term as well as long term if necessary. In this industry there are times when you need more staff than normal, to properly care for families and it can change rapidly. Whether it is extra assistance preparing decedents or simply professional staff for services, Angelic Touch is here to offer compassionate assistance whenever or wherever, when you can’t we can!  We vow to serve with dignity every call, every time and you will know that you have been touched by our angel. 

In Loving Memory of Davorius Jaloni Shields