In the presence of death, we must continue to sing the song of life.
We must be able to accept death and go from its presence better able to bear our burdens and to lighten the load of others.

Though we grieve the deaths of our loved ones, we accept them and hold on to our memories as precious gifts. Let us make the best of our loved ones while they are with us and let us not bury our love with death.

Beautiful words attributed to Seneca, a Roman philosopher nearly 2000 years ago, but still so true. Such is the human condition.

The death of a loved one is always a sadness whether the person was young or old, the death as a result of illness, accident or from old age. A funeral, it is often said, marks the end of the period of intense grieving and indicates a new stage in the mourners’ lives; physically without their loved one but with the memories of that special person to take along with them in their onward journey in life.

The funeral, memorial service or celebration of life is an opportunity to remember your loved one as they were known by you, their nearest and dearest; their personality and character, idiosyncrasies and all. A time to listen to their favourite music or verse. To reflect on what they meant to you and pay tribute to and celebrate the life they led.

It can be hard to do this when you are grieving and have so many other things to think about. And that is where I come in. I can help you to order your thoughts, think about how you would like the funeral to evolve, suggest music and readings as appropriate, and provide support to any family or friends who might wish to speak. There is no ‘given’ format for a funeral, we will tailor it together to be individual and personal to you and the deceased. Afterwards, I will present to you a written version for you to read at your own leisure, when you feel able, and to keep as a lasting memento.

I studied engineering for my first degree and Choral Singing for my second. Music is my passion, but family is the core of my existence. I have two grown up sons and two grandsons who live with their parents in the USA.

The following are testimonials from mourners from some of my recent ceremonies:

“Alison was a pleasure to work with at a traumatic time. She put us completely at ease when we met and wrote and delivered a beautiful and fitting tribute to my partner, which really captured the essence of who he was. Many people commented on how lovely the service was and I would highly recommend Alison to anyone looking for a celebrant. We can’t thank her enough. ” MA

“I must commend Alison for her outstanding contribution to my aunt and uncle’s joint funeral. The whole ceremony painted a remarkably vivid picture of their lives and characters, and Alison was absolutely essential in enabling this to happen. Her opening address in particular provided an excellent summary, delivered in pitch-perfect fashion. One of the mourners later commented that this was the best “celebration of life” event he had ever attended. ”  MA

“You did a wonderful job for us. So many people spoke to me after; praising you & your skills, they were very impressed . I could not have found a better person to lead the service. The whole thing exceeded my expectations. Mum would have liked it too. Thank you again for making the service meaningful for us all, it will no doubt help us in our everyday lives going forward.” HL

“Thank you for all that you did for Mummy’s service last Thursday. Her funeral was so lovely and I want to thank you sincerely for the guiding hand that you gave , your lovely words which really gave a significance to mummy and a poignancy to the service itself, that became meaningful and yes, a celebration of her life. I miss her terribly already and the finality of Thursday is sinking in but there is a lot to be grateful for and I am so pleased that we chose you to officiate because I can look back with a lightness and a “happy” memory of the day.” DG

I have signed up to the Funeral Celebrant Accord which sets the standards by which Funeral Celebrants should be measured. Details of this standard can be found here along with a checklist for the service you can expect from me.

I live in Banstead, Surrey and work throughout Surrey, South East London, West Kent and East Sussex.

Please contact me on email at: alisonAcattermole@gmail.com.

Or by telephone on 07767 457568.