What exactly does a Funeral Director do?

Traditionally, a Funeral Director would be charged with taking on the complete responsibility for arranging and conducting a funeral.

Our society, unlike many others, tends to shy away from the reality of death. It is the one and only certainty we all face, and yet we find it difficult to talk about it, perhaps because it scares us, or perhaps because we would rather not think about it.

This suited old-time undertakers very well. They became the experts in doing things how they wanted to do them. They created packages for people to chose from. Simple, standard, elaborate? Tick the box and we’ll do the rest. Many businesses still operate like this, some very successfully.

Times are changing though as we become more demanding, and the concept of a package funeral is being challenged daily. The bereaved want more input into the design of the ceremony, more choices, more flexibility.

I see the emerging role of the Funeral Director as a co-ordinator, an organiser, a confidante and a friend. Someone we can turn to for advice and help, but not necessarily hand everything over to.

Of course, changes don’t happen overnight, and many people still want the traditional funeral, and I am more than happy to take on that role, but even then I will try and involve people in ways that perhaps they hadn’t considered possible.

Feedback from clients is that they find this approach refreshing and hugely rewarding. It is for me too. The more you get involved, the more you will ultimately gain from the whole experience.

Talk to me, ask questions, challenge anything you want. Discussing a funeral in advance is becoming widely acceptable. Have a look at my website http://www.kingfisherfunerals.co.uk/ for some ideas, or ask me to help you plan something entirely unique.

Call me on (01480) 471001 or e-mail me info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk in complete confidence if I can be of any assistance to you. I guarantee complete openness and I absolutely promise that I won’t try to sell you anything.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, completely independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and on The Best of St Neots.