What happens next?
A tribute for your loved one...
Each funeral service is bespoke. I will help you to settle on songs, poetry, prose or prayers that might form part of the service. The service might reflect the religious faith of your loved one, or it might contain no reference to religion whatsoever. I can deliver the whole service for you or facilitate the involvement of family or friends in delivering key aspects of the service.
If you do not contact me directly then it is likely that your funeral director will have initiated contact. I will confirm some basic details about your loved one with the funeral director. Once this is done, I will be in contact with you to arrange a meeting with you. This meeting would normally take place at your home, but you may choose to meet me at a coffee shop, a community hall or some other place that might be handy for you.
Our meeting
At the meeting please have with you anyone who you think might make a significant contribution in helping me understand the life of your loved one and what made them special. This would normally, but not exclusively, be close family members and/or close friends. If there are peopIe who you would like to be at the meeting, but they cannot make it then please either write their stories down in advance of meeting me, or ask them to email me their memories directly. It helps if people have thought about stories before they meet with me. I recognise that you are going through a very tough time and will deal with you and your families and friends in a professional and sympathetic manner. If anyone is emailing me then please let me know so that, if I need to, I can check with you that the email has arrived. I may ask your permission to record the meeting as an aide memoire for my preparations. Any such recordings are deleted as soon as the eulogy has been confirmed.
At the meeting I aim to get a clear idea about who your loved one was – their passions and interests. The key points of their life. The jobs they held and their favourite holiday destinations. The football team they supported or the music they loved. I will weave all of the information together to tell the tale of your loved one. Within a couple of days I will send you a draft of the eulogy by email and invite you to make comment on it. It is important to check your junk mail folder just in case the message ends up there. After any changes have been made a final draft will be sent for approval and the service will then be confirmed.
At the meeting we will also talk about some of the practicalities of the service – we will discuss any songs, hymns and music. We will come to decisions about any poetry or prose. We will also decide whether anyone in the family or friendship group will be participating directly in the service. On the day of the service, I will arrive in good time to greet you at the venue and will conduct the service in a professional and dignified manner.
At the meeting I aim to get a clear idea about who your loved one was – their passions and interests. The key points of their life. The jobs they held and their favourite holiday destinations. The football team they supported or the music they loved. I will weave all of the information together to tell the tale of your loved one. Within a couple of days I will send you a draft of the eulogy by email and invite you to make comment on it. It is important to check your junk mail folder just in case the message ends up there. After any changes have been made a final draft will be sent for approval and the service will then be confirmed.
At the meeting we will also talk about some of the practicalities of the service – we will discuss any songs, hymns and music. We will come to decisions about any poetry or prose. We will also decide whether anyone in the family or friendship group will be participating directly in the service. On the day of the service, I will arrive in good time to greet you at the venue and will conduct the service in a professional and dignified manner.