Funerals and memorials
Please get in touch
You can contact me direct (see side bar) or via your chosen funeral director/service.
How I work
If you’d like me to conduct a funeral or memorial service, we’ll arrange to meet as soon as possible. At this meeting, I’ll ask you all about the person who’s died, support you in choosing exactly the sort of service you want, and collect photos and anything else to help guests remember and share honest (and hopefully happy) feelings.
If it’s not possible to meet face-to-face, we can talk by phone or online (Zoom, Teams etc), and share details by email or social media.
I can either deliver the whole service on your behalf or support family members and other guests to deliver their own tributes.
I’ve got a wide knowledge of music, readings and poetry to help you find and use the perfect material for the moment. And if you’d like to include live music, performance or something else that fits with the person whose life has ended, I can help to coordinate that too.
I’ll produce an original, written script in hard copy and electronic formats for you to keep and share after the service. You can also add all or part of the script to the Humanists UK funeral tribute archive, where it will be stored in perpetuity to remember your loved one and become an historical source for future generations.
“I cannot thank you enough for delivering a perfect tribute to my husband, for leading the event, and for guiding every single person in the room through the process of the memorial and helping them to channel all their energy and love. Thank you for giving me and everyone else there the chance to express our sorrow and our joy.”
“Words are insufficient to thank you enough for conducting such a wonderful memorial for my brother John. I will always cherish this occasion.”
My fees
My standard fee for a funeral or memorial is £265, including travel within a 30-mile radius of Oxford. We can agree an extra charge for other locations. Prices for premorials and living funerals will depend on the person’s and family’s wishes.
“On behalf of the family I thank you for the brilliant job you did for us. You helped to make a very difficult and emotional day go smoothly and took away the stress. I cannot thank you enough, both your conducting of the day and the way you enabled me to see Dad differently, which helped me to write my eulogy.”
“Thank you Ian for your immense help. It wouldn’t have been so perfect without you. We are all happy that the whole occasion turned out the way it did. And speechless about the location and ambience – just perfect.”
“My enormous thanks for everything you did yesterday and all of the meticulous preparation beforehand. Although none of us would wish events like a funeral to happen, your oration and demeanour, lifted all of us.”