What clients have said about my work:

Sue Cook, for Dave Cook 11th January 2022:

“When my husband was nearing death, I knew that although he was a spiritual man there was no way he would ever have wanted anything religious about his funeral.  A humanist seemed ideal – I’d been to a humanist ceremony before, and it very much fitted Dave’s beliefs.  And so I found Lizzie.

“I could not have found anyone better.  She totally understood exactly what I wanted – to have a celebration of Dave’s life rather than a gloomy service focusing on his death. Dave was 79 and had lived his life to the full, sadly succumbing over the past few years to Alzheimer’s so that his death was welcomed as he was no longer dealing with pain or distress. From a very active man, he had become bedbound and unable to communicate.  So what I wanted was to focus so much on the 78 glorious years he had had before the final year robbed him of so much. We had been together as a couple for 49 of those years and hence I had a wealth of stories about what Dave had got up to, many of them very funny incidents. And when I told Lizzie Dave had chosen his arrival music several years ago when we talked about funerals, she was not taken aback at all by his choice of ‘Entry of the Gladiators’ – the circus theme!

“And so I felt in trusted hands as, in not more than a week, we put together a ceremony to celebrate Dave’s life.  Especially impressive since Lizzie herself was recovering from one of the seasonal respiratory viruses at  the time, so we had to do this over the phone and via zoom call rather than face to face.  Lizzie timed and planned the photo slides I provided perfectly, presented the tribute for me with all the anecdotes with superb presenting skills and took everything that happened in her stride – even smoothly incorporating the phrase ‘the beat goes on’ into her presentation when one of our friends said this after reading a poem, whilst simultaneously playing a frame drum round the coffin in the chapel.

“Yes, it was serious. Any death is a serious fact, and this was certainly reflected, primarily when everyone present was invited to lay a bloom on the coffin and say their own goodbye to Dave. As was the way Lizzie explained humanist beliefs at the beginning – I know several there asked me afterwards about how I had found her as they liked the idea of a humanist service themselves when the time came.  But primarily her skill was in how she managed to bring Dave to life to those who were there, by being joyous about his life and how he had lived his 79 years.  It was exactly as I wanted and I am so grateful to her for doing it so well. It felt very much as if she had truly known him. And it’s not something you get a chance to do again!

“She also came along to the wake afterwards and stage-managed reading some other memories out, encouraging others to stand up and share memories too – and led us all in a singsong of one of Dave’s favourite songs with his own unique version of the chorus.  Many said they really enjoyed the occasion, enjoyed remembering Dave as he was in full glorious life, felt they knew him even better than before and appreciated the way that the service focused so much on his life, making everyone there aware of how this life we live must be treated as precious. It’s the only one we know we’ve got. And life, indeed, is for living.

“Thank you, Lizzie.  And I would not hesitate to recommend you for any similar service and am happy to be contacted further if anyone has any questions or is dithering about who to use.”

suecook111@btinternet.com

07789 670835