Count your blessings

Count your blessings as we Name a Star

As Christmas draws nearer, we thought we would spend some time counting our blessings.

First, we are blessed at the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group to have an amazing team. We’ve got through Covid, thanks in no small part to their ceaseless efforts. During the hardest times, they simply kept going, day after day, without grumbling, working incredibly hard, and never, at any point, letting the level of their service drop. Every one of them has cared for our clients with compassion and complete professionalism. They are phenomenal and we’re deeply thankful to have such a dedicated and skilled work family.

Second, as restrictions continue to relax, we’re so thankful, carefully, to welcome back to our branches real people. It’s so much easier for everyone involved in a funeral to be allowed to talk face to face, albeit at a social distance. It’s easier to communicate, listen, and show compassion to the families we serve in the midst of their grief.

Third, we’re thankful for smiles and tears. We must continue to wear facemasks for the safety of others, but when we’re settled in a meeting and able to remove the coverings, we can actually see the expressions on one another’s faces. Organising a funeral can, for obvious reasons, be a sad undertaking, but in the UK we smile often when we talk about our family. Even the family we’ve lost and miss so much. Face to face meetings are often punctuated by as many smiles as they are tears, and we feel so thankful to be allowed to share them.

Finally, we’re grateful to be able to engage with the community once again. For so long we’ve been locked in our offices, meeting online and talking on the phone. Now our teams are freer to meet families in person once more, support local charities, attend meetings, and make a positive impact on the communities we serve. We’re still taking great care with everyone’s safety, but it is very important to the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group that we play our part in making the locations we serve into the best places they can possibly be.

For Christmas, our Name a Star trees are in every branch of the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group, as well as a few other venues, from 1st December. We warmly invite everyone to visit one of our branches, dedicate a Christmas star to the memory of someone you love and miss, and hang it on the tree. If you feel unable to do that because of health concerns... simply ring your local branch and one of the friendly funeral arrangers will be delighted to name a star on your behalf.

We are looking forward to 2022. We believe and hope it will be a better year for everyone... not without challenges, but safer and calmer all round.

Merry Christmas and a very happy 2022 to all our family, colleagues, friends, and customers!

The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group star, available in every branch.

Colchester celebrates Light a Candle

Colchester celebrates Light a Candle

On Saturday 20th November, as a culmination of the Light a Candle events in 2021, the Colchester Branches of the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group are hosting a second Light a Candle event. The church of St James the Great Church, East Hill, Colchester will be open for people to drop in between 11am and 1pm, so they can light a candle in memory of the people they miss most and take a valuable opportunity to give thanks and remember. There will also be a short service of remembrance and thanksgiving in the church at 1130am, which anyone can attend, a further opportunity to remember the people they miss most.

Melanie Hunnaball said, “Our Light a Candle plans for events in 2021 were developed with Covid restrictions very much in mind. As a result, instead of the usual services of remembrance, many of our branches made alternative arrangements for people to drop into a venue where they could remember their loved ones at a social distance. However, since Covid restrictions have continued to ease, we wanted to offer the chance for those people to gather for a church service too, when we can remember as a community or group.

“We’re grateful to the amazing team at St James the Great church in Colchester, who’ve agreed to put on this special service as an addition to the commemorations which have already taken place for our other branches.”

At the same time, in West Mersea, our branch, JK May, will hold their Light a Candle event at the Free Church in Mill Road, from 10am – 12 noon.


Remembrance 2021

Remembrance 2021

This year is the centenary of the Royal British Legion, founded on 15th May 1921 following World War One. They have worked tirelessly since their foundation to support former service men and women, and their families, in their return to civilian life, often following life shaping experiences or injuries. As a result of their work, Remembrance Day and the Poppy Appeal have become an important part of our national life in the UK, when we unite to commemorate the sacrifice of the few for the sake of the many, remember everyone who has been affected by war, and gather in a unified expression of memorial and respect.

We are deeply appreciative of their work. World War One was not, as once hoped, the war to end all wars and the Royal British Legion have continued to make a huge difference in the lives of so many. Now, 100 years later, service personnel from the UK, and many other nations, still risk and sacrifice their lives and war continues to be a fact of life in every corner of the world.

It is more important than ever to remember the fallen, the suffering, and their loved ones and families.

The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group are proud to have a variety of links with the armed forces. We have our head office in Colchester, which has a long history of involvement with the military, we actively seek to employ former service personnel, and we continue to raise money and awareness on behalf of men and women who have served. We conduct services for many former service people of different generations, helping to acknowledge their lives and the contribution they have made for all of us.

Last year’s Remembrance was a very different experience for us all, thanks to Covid, but this year, commemoration will be more like we all expect. We will gather to observe silence, lay wreaths, buy poppies, and remember... together. Every branch of the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group will lay a wreath at their local war memorial, as well as support the Poppy Appeal in any way we can. You can follow the link to donate and leave a dedication on our Poppy Appeal page.

We encourage everyone to mark Remembrance Day with a moment of silence and, if you have faith, a prayer. Please buy a poppy and give thanks that we are privileged to live in a country where we are free to remember. The Royal British Legion is as important as ever and this year’s Remembrance events are, as always, something very special.

We will remember them.