Sixty hours

Funeral costs - why aren't they cheaper?

You might have seen a number of adverts on TV talking about pre-paid funerals, which are a very good idea, but have you thought about why a proper funeral costs what it does? Up and down the country, funeral directors work hard to make the worst times in life as bearable as possible for their clients. We’re trained professionals and always try to offer the advice most suitable to the needs of each client, who are most often a grieving family or friend of the deceased.

From pick-up of a deceased person to erecting a memorial, the work of a funeral director takes well over 60 man-hours.

First contact

Unless a person has arranged a pre-paid funeral plan, the first contact we have with a family is usually their call for us to take the deceased’s body into our care. Our first response team will come out at all hours and pick up from all kinds of circumstances. The team will usually consist of two men, driving a specially converted vehicle, and with great care they will transport the deceased to one of our mortuaries.

The deceased will be stored in a dedicated mortuary, where their body will be cleansed, prepared, and, most often, embalmed by a professional embalmer. They are always treated with the utmost dignity and respect and we will take whatever time is needed to make sure they are ready for viewing, if that is what their loved ones want. There might be a wait of up to three weeks for the funeral to take place, and more if there is a coroner involved.

Arrangements

There can be a huge amount of paperwork after a death, and your funeral director does as much as they possibly can to help. The funeral arranger is specially trained to help clients deal with all of the detail and will take as much time as needed. All the while, the funeral arranger will arrange a suitable funeral service (whether a burial, cremation, or direct cremation), walking the client through every detail, choice, and decision about dates, times, venue, chapel visits, music, celebrant, coffin, clothing, flowers, vehicles, bearers, printed orders of service, donations, and all the other things that must be finalised. They will take time to listen to their client, helping them as they begin the process of grieving.

In our experience, the more carefully we address the details, the less likely it is that the day of the funeral will feel like an ordeal. A good funeral director’s team will be compassionate and highly professional, something that we're proud to say our own team most definitely are.

The funeral and the days following

On the day of the service itself, everything should run smoothly, from transport to the service itself. There are between 6 and 10 people working on your behalf; the conductor, the celebrant, drivers, bearers... not to mention the staff at the venues. Then, after the service, we continue to support the client. Following a burial, we assist with the choice of memorial, manufacturing, engraving, and installing it for the client. Similarly, after a cremation, we pick up and store any cremated remains, and help the client to consider and choose a suitable container or memorial, if that is their wish.

Continued support

Even after the practicalities are finished, a good funeral director will keep in touch and help in any way they can. The Hunnaball Family Funeral Group hosts annual remembrance events called ‘Light a Candle’ and ‘Name a Star’, giving grieving families and friends the space to remember and give thanks. We understand that the ordeal of losing a loved ones does not end with the funeral service.

You get what you pay for

Funeral services are not cheap, and we’re sometimes asked why this is. The simple answer is that behind the scenes, a large number of specially trained people, dedicated facilities and specialist transport are involved. Care of the deceased and their families can never be rushed or skimped; it is a sacred trust which takes many hours of dedicated work.


Trevor Hunnaball with Daughter Polly

Trevor Hunnaball - 65 years in the industry

The years have flown by...

This year marks 65 years since I began working in the funeral industry, and the years have flown by. It’s been a privilege and great pleasure, although hard work at times, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I started work in 1957 at WH Shepherd, straight after I left school... I was just 15 years old. It was the only thing I remember ever wanting to do. But the shiny black cars were a factor too. I loved the cars.

I joined as a trainee funeral director and worked very hard to learn everything I could. It was so interesting. I learned how to make coffins, bear at funerals, conduct funerals, and to clean the cars... and I cleaned the cars so many times.

It’s one of the things that hasn’t changed... the cars have to be perfect for the families!

Becoming a Managing Director

I became Managing Director of the company when I was still quite young, in my late twenties. When you love what you do, you work hard at it.

It wasn’t until 1983 that Melanie and I bought Geo. Paskell in Manningtree, the first branch of what became the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group. We also had a flower shop, and a successful car hire company which allowed me to indulge my love of classic cars at the same time as supporting our new business with limousines.

What a journey it’s been since those days. We no longer have a florist shop or car hire business, but the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group serves people from across Essex and Suffolk. We have 11 branches, a service centre, training centre, memorial department, and a garden of rest. We’re a true family business. Five of our six directors are members of the Hunnaball family (the sixth is a close friend), and we have a fantastic team across our business, all of whom we think of as our work family.

We’ve conducted thousands of funerals; including cremations, burials at sea, in woodland, in gardens, and so much more. We serve every religion and none, work with people from many different cultures, and it’s been a privilege, a joy, and hard work...

There is nothing I would rather be doing.

About Hunnaball Family Funeral Group

As I look back, I can only be grateful. The business we’ve built is defined by compassion and professionalism, with the highest standards of service. People know when a funeral has been conducted by the Hunnaball Family Funeral Group for all the best reasons.

I’ve also seen lots of positive change in 65 years. An increase in equality in the funeral industry with our iconic ‘Ladies in Hats’, woodland burials, proper training and professional qualifications, the growth of the hospice movement, mental health awareness, open discussion of the issues surrounding death, and so much more.

During 2022, I will post a blog every month. I want to consider the funeral industry through the eyes of 65 years in the industry. But, first and foremost, as we start a new year, I am simply thankful for a very blessed life and a most rewarding career. And more, for the people I share them with.