In the past, a “Pauper’s funeral” was a funeral paid for by the state, for those who either didn’t have enough money in their estate or family members willing to cover the costs of the burial arrangements. This was one of the earliest social welfare provisions in Britain, dating all the way back to Elizabethan [...]
While many people continue to consider burial or cremation, others are looking into another option: body donation. In short, this is the act of donating your body to science as opposed to being buried or cremated. There is no denying that you will eventually come in contact with somebody who is interested in donating their [...]
Would you know what hymn or song your loved one would want played at their funeral? If not, you are not alone, more than seven out of ten people in a recent survey said that they were not certain. Popular Funeral Songs In a previous survey of the nation’s top 10 most popular contemporary funeral [...]
The National Council for Palative Care, The Dying Matters Organization, and the National Bereavement Alliance recently teamed up to study how employers and workplaces handle the bereaved. The study worked with four thousand individuals and what they found out is startling. The Results of the Study According to the report, the country’s employers are doing [...]
The debate over employee sanctioned bereavement leave is a difficult one. On the one hand you have people who insist that bereavement leave should be a standard part of the employee benefit package, like maternity leave. On the other, you have those who say that regulating bereavement leave is much trickier and will be more [...]
By | 2017-06-14T14:53:09+00:00 |Dying Matters|Comments Off on Bereavement Workplace Leave.
Cruse started out as a small local service focused on helping widows and their children through the bereavement process and now Cruse Bereavement Care is the most highly respected bereavement care charity in the United Kingdom. It offers bereavement services, support and counseling to people across England, Northern Ireland, Wales and (via its sister charity) Scotland. [...]
By | 2017-06-14T14:53:09+00:00 |Dying Matters|Comments Off on Cruse Grieving Services.
Trying to talk to children—especially very young children—about funerals can be incredibly stressful. As adults, we worry about causing too much stress or allowing our children to feel too much pain. It is our instinct to shield them from death and the grief that follows it for as long as possible. The primary problem with [...]
By | 2017-06-14T14:53:09+00:00 |Dying Matters|Comments Off on Children and Funerals.
Every two to seven years, families of the Malagasy people of Madagascar gather for famadihana ceremonies to honour their deceased loved ones. Known as “turning of the bones,” these ceremonies, which take place at the family crypt, are cause for joyous celebration. The remains of the loved ones are brought out from the crypt, sprayed [...]
The beliefs and rituals of the Australian Aboriginal peoples vary from tribe to tribe, region to region, all loosely pertaining to their concept of the cosmos and afterlife, known as “The Dreaming.” Oftentimes, any number of methods may be used to dispose of the body and free the soul, including cremation, decay by exposure, and [...]
This is the first article in a new blog series brought to you by Sussex Funeral Services exploring funeral rites and rituals around the world. Join us as we look into how different peoples both mourn and celebrate death. Jhator is the ancient ritual of death among Tibetan Buddhists that dates back over eleven-thousand years, [...]
on behalf of the Harper Family.. Dear Philip and Staff at Sussex Funeral HomeI wish to share our sincere thanks from myself and family on the support extended during the passing of our Brother Ivan in Brighton. Even given the distance between us you made it seamless, especially working with the Coroner’s office and bringing Ivan to your little B&B.. albeit a short stay.We introduced Sandra to yourself and you both worked as a team to keep our minds free to focus on reflecting Ivan’s life and the memories shared while you to worked in the background to put everything else in place.From being such a small family service, you made very special and personal about Ivan which we will never forget.We wish you well in your little B&B.. always keep it special !!Moira Harper and Family.read more
An exceptional service; personalised, sincere, and everyone said it was the best funeral they had ever attended. Phil and Sallie researched thoroughly, and were involved in all the decision-making, to enable us to have the funeral we wanted. The result was a beautiful ceremony. Their warm and personal approach to mum's funeral helped the family beyond description.read more
Sallie and Phil were absolutely amazing and I can't even begin to express my gratitude for their professionalism, kindness, honesty, helpfulness, flexibility, compassion and for going the extra mile for us. They broke up their prices clearly, there were no hidden fees or surprises, there was none of that 'being charged for things you don't want' nonsense. They put the Orders of Service on the seats, they arranged lights for me, they helped me with the music, they communicated with me every step of the way, we even had some lovely chats too. All of this and they offer one of the cheapest prices. But we got everything we'd want; we probably got more than we'd have got from places charging a grand more. I can't praise them enough, thank them enough and recommend them any more highly. If I find myself needing to arrange another funeral in the area, I guarantee I'll go straight back to Sussex Funeral Services and be confident I'm in safe hands. At the worst time of my life, at my most vulnerable, they not only didn't take advantage, they were a great comfort and support. (Stephen Frost)read more
The funeral was highly personalised and nuanced with great sensitivity to our particular circumstance. An occasion which could have been daunting was made pleasant. All concerned felt the Service was apt and moving. In short, it could not have been done better.read more
Phillip Sallie and the rest of the staff at Sussex Funeral Services were absolutely brilliant when dealing with Dad's funeral. Would recommend them wholeheartedly if unfortunately you find yourself in need of their services. Top Class.read more
Fab Funeral....Phil has managed two funerals for me and my family having sadly lost two dear brothers in the last 14 months. It was great working with Phil to get the funeral plans in place to fit with our budget and our musical requirements. Both of my brothers loved music of the 60s, 70s and 80s and at the last funeral we paid extra for a double time slot at the Crem and ensured that we tested the music volume with the staff at the Crem and it was totally brilliant on the day with back to back tracks. Phil is a nice guy and so easy to work with and his superb people skills made it all so relaxed for family and friends on the day of the funeral. Phil even recommended a superb florist who prepared the flowers for the coffin. I would highly recommend Phil's funeral services to anyone....Don’t think twice about who to talk to about your funeral arrangements, talk to Phil. Regards, Clive Martin.read more
Philip and the team were fantastic. The compassion shown to the entire family was second to none. Made a very difficult time a little less difficult. Thank you
Philip and his team were really professional and helpful. They accommodated and delivered all our wishes, and sensitively guided us through the process. Fully recommended.
From the moment we met Philip, the Funeral Director, he was warm, kind and very helpful. He gave advice with every aspect of the funeral. Philip also delivered the Eulogy of my Dad ( having previously spent 2 hrs with my family, gathering information about Dad's life). He really captured the essence of my Dad and told the story of his life in a warm hearted, natural way. After the funeral, family and friends, commented, on what a lovely service it was. From start to finish Sussex Funeral Services treated us all with the utmost respect and all my family agree, that we would highly recommend them.read more
I sadly lost my mother recently. The home where she had been living recommended Sussex Funeral Services to me saying they would look after everything. This was a blessing as I live in France. Phil, Sallie and Bob were wonderful...trying to organise a funeral from a distance could have been difficult and emotionally exhausting - it wasn't. They were all kind, helpful, considerate and incredibly efficient with every aspect of the planning, paperwork and the smooth running of funeral itself. My family and I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Phil and his amazing team. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.read more
When my brother met me to discuss our mum funeral he was sure he wanted to go with Sussex Funeral services, I said not to make that decision because they were by far the cheapest. He said he didn’t and that when he met them they genuinely cared about all aspects and provided the emotional support that would be needed at this hard time where as others perhaps didn’t. They showed that from the moment I spoke to them on the phone I felt at ease and the service offered on the day of the funeral exceeded any expectations.Please don’t hesitate to use these guys. They have a Facebook page full of reviews, Google and Yell is nothing but positive feedback and when spending a large amount of money or dealing with something as important as saying goodbye to a loved one you need full assurance you are safe with who you are using and this case you’re far more then safe. It all comes down to personally liking someone sometimes and Phillip you should be proud of the successful business you have as I would recommend you to anyone and from what I can see so would many hundreds of other customers. Thank you.read more
We live in the North East of England whereas our daughter, who died in Sussex, had expressed a desire to be buried in Sussex.We wished to conduct a family service ourselves and It was our great good fortune to find Sussex Funerals who understood our needs and recognised (and helped us to overcome) the difficulties of long distance planning with great empathy and efficiency.Despite conducting all the arrangements by telephone, text and email Phillip Evans and his team were absolutely perfect on the day, gently guiding us through the processes whilst remaining ‘in the background’ as far as they possibly could.We are very grateful for the quiet dignity, respect and empathy shown by the whole team and would wholeheartedly recommend Sussex Funerals.read more
Phil at Sussex Funeral Services is so compassionate, experienced and knowledgeable. He made every stage of my dear mum’s funeral simple to move through. I felt held and supported all the way through. Thank you so much Phil!read more
My family and I lost our Dad on 20th June 2019 to a tragic accident. It was incredibly hard to process the reality of what was going to take place and what was expected of us. We were recommended Phil, Sallie, and Bob by Clayton burial ground for their ability to be light-hearted, while maintaining decorum and dignity. Our Dad was a very light-hearted man, so this suited us well. I remember the first day we met Sallie, and I will never forget it. My sister and I felt an enormous amount of sympathy when we walked through those doors. She could feel our pain, and we just hugged for a few minutes. The level of compassion was truly amazing, and the day went seamlessly. Bob was great at talking us through the pall-bearing, Sallie was on hand to give me a glass of water when our Dad arrived in the hearse, and Phil made us laugh on a few occasions on the run up to the funeral. It was things like this that made them amazing to us, and my sister and I are incredibly thankful to them for making the day what it was. I still have people telling me how much they enjoyed the funeral (which isn’t something you expect to hear!).Thank you again guys.Simon & Christina Spencer, and Family xxxxxread more
Philip,I just wanted to thank you formally for all your help in designing and delivering Joyce's funeral. I didn't really know how to go about choosing a funeral director, and I'm so glad I chose you. You gave extremely good advice about the design of the service. Throughout the process you have been very helpful and gave me a lot of reassurance through your obvious good planning, professionalism and expertise. And you provided me with great people to work with - Lisa with the flowers and, in particular, the wonderful Jen.I'm sure you know that this has been the most difficult time of my life. I'm very pleased with the way that the funeral went - as were all the people there. So you have my gratitude for making it a success and for the fact that the process was more pain free than I would have dared to imagine.Warm regards,Ed Haggerread more
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