Name
Lel Wallace and Sarah Stuart
Age
over 40…..(shhhhh)
What is your job title?
Funeral Directors
What does your job involve?
Each day as a funeral director is completely different: you never know what the day will bring! Sarah and Lel run the business alone so they are always first point of contact with their families from 2am call-outs to being there on the day of the funeral gently supporting the family through. The job involves looking after the deceased (such as dressing, bathing and preparation for chapel visits). We do not embalm unless the family request it. We take the instructions of the family and organise crematoriums, burials, gravediggers, bearers – everything according to what the family want! We also deal with newspaper notices, florists and alternative hearses such as VW hearse or horses and carriages. At the end of the day, the buck stops with us! We are responsible for ensuring everything is booked and arranged as the family have asked.
Does your job require qualifications?
Lel came into the industry through the academic route: she volunteered at a local FD’s whilst she gained her Foundation Certificate in Funeral Directing. Sarah however was a civil celebrant who then went and worked in a funeral directors and loved it so much, she stayed there. There are different routes you can take to get into the industry, but people who think it just involves looking lovely and walking in front of a hearse are very much mistaken!!
What is the best thing about the job you do?
Working in an industry we are both passionate about, with my best mate!
What is the worst thing about the job you do?
MEN’s idle gossip!! We get so talked about by other FD’s and bearers – we keep our mouths shut and our ears open!
How do people react when you tell them what you do for a living?
Some tend to go a bit quiet….then ask a lot of in-depth questions!!
What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?
Lel loves her motorbike and Sarah is in the middle of buying her first house so a bit busy!
