Dignified Committal

The proliferation of ways to make the final journey is posing challenges to those responsible for organising funerals, a Local Government Association conference was warned last week. Sue Saville of the National Association of Funeral Directors said: "You cannot put very, very heavy people into a coffin. You end up burying somebody in a wardrobe. That is essentially what it looks like. It cannot fit into a hearse, or possibly even a van. Once you talk to people about flatbeds or JCBs, they hold their hands up in horror, but you cannot do these things any other way."

Natasha Bradshaw, deputy president of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, said: "In some instances, a cremation cannot take place and they'd have to have a burial because there wouldn't be a cremator in the country that's wide enough. I was recently told of a case in the City of London where they had to have a chap craned into a grave."

At Mortlake crematorium in west London, three new ovens are being installed that will take caskets up to 42 inches wide – up from the 28in maximum of a standard machine.

While bodies are changing, so are the options for the deceased's nearest and dearest. As conventional church services decline, there has been a growth in everything from no- frills funerals to highly personalised civil ceremonies with hymns replaced by pop anthems. Designer coffins are taking over from the traditional wooden casket with brass handles. With reference the article in the Independent on Sunday 11th March, I am more than a little concerned about both the inference, and the use of language. To essentially consign an obese person to an undignified funeral service is fundamentally wrong. While I have great respect for the NAFD, to imply you cannot put very very heavy people into a coffin is wrong, and to imply such people are buried in wardrobes will cause considerable distress to families who have experienced the funeral of a loved one who is obese.

While crematoria are dealing with the problem by increasing the size of the cremators (they are not ovens!), funeral directors must also adjust their thinking and practice to cope with the increasing size of people. There is no need to bury someone in something looking like a wardrobe. With some thought and close liaison with the coffin makers (all Chester Pearce coffins are made to order), there are ways to present a casket which is not simply a square box. Use of depth can often reduce the need for width, and might be the difference between achieving a cremation and not. Yes, we must always consider the welfare of our bearers, and so sometimes the need for lifting equipment is necessary. However, this doesn't have to be in front of the family, and with a little imagination and tact, families can be protected from an unsightly and potentially undignified committal.

In my experience, most families are very honest about their loved one. If they were very big, they are not going to deny it. Chester Pearce funeral directors spend a great deal of time with bereaved families in advance of the funeral, and plan every detail specific to that family, and so a positive conclusion can be achieved from a challenging situation.

In closing, I must make mention of this average funeral cost figure which is being banded around. I am not sure where this figure has been taken from, but certainly my experience is not an average funeral cost of over £7,000, but instead it is nearer £4,000. Our bespoke service enables families to pay for their choices and nothing more, and so of course, if the funeral is complex with a number of different elements, £7,000 plus is not out of the question, but people shouldn't be afraid to spend considerably less, with an assurance of quality and care in every case.