Why I became the Youngest Funeral Director in the UK?
At 15 years of age when life should be full of fun and hanging around with my friends being a teenager, I was going through what I would say, one of the hardest things I will ever have to deal with in my life, losing my Dad.
Dad was my life, my best friend. We had a close family, Dad, Mum, Me and my sister, life was good. Me and dad shared a love of football and Manchester united, watching games and playing football together was the highlight of our week. But then our world was thrown upside down in December 2017 when Dad was diagnosed with stage 3 Lung cancer. My dad was a fighter and was not going to give in easy without a fight, which he did with so much dignity and strength. He never complained, he always stayed positive. But sadly, on the 16th January 2020 my brave dad lost his battle against this cruel illness, a day I will never forget. At the age of 15 I had to grow up fast, I went from having a normal life to comforting people who were trying to comfort me. As a family we were going through grief right when lock down initially started, we had to learn to lean on each other more than we ever had done before, it definitely was a learning curve for us all. I became more empathetic, for sure. While the experience of going through grief was an unwelcome one, the empathy and understanding I have gained has come in handy.
This is where my story beginning of why I decided to become a funeral director at the age of 17 years old.
Mark Robson from Robson & Stephens Funeral services took care of the arrangement for my dad’s funeral, the care and compassion were unbelievable, the attention to details was amazing, the order of service was personal and made us smile, the Manchester United song was used, and everyone wore red ties, which made the service very personal and perfect for my dad, we did him proud with an amazing send-off.
After my dad’s funeral and the compassion, we received from Mark I knew this is what I wanted to do, I wanted to help people say goodbye to their loved ones in a professional, compassionate way, using my own personal life experience of grief to guide and help them.
After going through such a traumatic experience and the way it made me feel, I was going to use this compassion and empathy I had gained to help support other going though one of the hardest times of their life, listening and given them emotional support when they need it the most, I turned something that was incredibly sad into something positive, helping others.
I feel very honoured to be welcomed into Robson and Stephens Funeral Service at such a young age, they are helping me to gain experience and knowledge which is growing every day, I have now organised and directed a few funerals on my own, which has been the most amazing experience, helping my families to celebrate their loved one’s life in a personal way, adding personal touches to every service.
Being the youngest Funeral Director in the UK is amazing feeling, helping others is given me a strong feeling of personal satisfaction and pride.
I know one thing is for sure my Dad would be very proud of me…