Funeral Celebrant in North Yorkshire

Hi, I’m Joel your Funeral Celebrant in North Yorkshire. I live in Marske by-the-sea with my wife and two children. I’ve been lucky to have a varied and some would say adventurous life.

For most of my life I’ve worked around the world as a musician on cruise ships and in theatres. I’ve performed to 6 on a cold winters evening in Whitby and 6000 plus at a packed Alexandra Palace.

Performance and public speaking come naturally to me but the real satisfaction for me comes from writing the perfect ceremony. I think it’s so important to give someone a personalised funeral all about their lives.

I’ve had the pleasure of discovering the most amazing things about people during interviews with their families and the satisfaction of then crafting it into their eulogy.

You see I always think that not everybody knows all the history of a person. Throughout our lives we mix in different circles unintentionally drifting from one to the next as our life evolves. I’ve always enjoyed learning about something that someone that I’ve lost did, that I never knew. Despite having known them for many years.

We all have our own journeys intertwined with everyone else’s. It’s these points where our lives cross and we interact that shape the next part of our story and we usually have plenty of adventures and ups and downs along the way.

I try to capture the intricacies and small personal details of a person’s life in their funeral ceremony. I also try to incorporate lighter moments in the ceremony. It’s so important to remember and celebrate the good times. Wouldn’t we all like to be remembered with a smile?

I still think of tales of my own Grandmother, like the time she fell through the ceiling and instead of landing on the double bed or the top of the wardrobe. She managed to sit squarely on the steel stool between the two, squashing it flat. I can still hear her proudly describing the resulting bruise as she told us the story to much laughter.

Every time I think of this story, I can see her smiling face telling the tale and that’s how I remember her. With fondness and a smile on my face.

Funerals are of course a time of great sadness and reflect the strength of our feelings at the death of a loved one. Time should be taken to pick the right music, the right reading or poem for them.

I’m happy to assist with this when needed but strongly encourage people to think back on what their loved one’s favourite poem or song was. I can only deliver all these personal details if you tell me. To aid this process I always allow plenty of time for a relaxed friendly interview with family and/or friends to collect the information but also to share in the stories and tales of their lives.

Everyone has a story to be told and it’s only right that it should be shared with all their family and friends in a caring and considered manner to mark their death with the love and respect they deserve. The love and respect we all deserve.