A Tamworth funeral firm is offering grieving families the chance to properly celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died during the coronavirus lockdown once restrictions are lifted.
Staff at Tamworth Co-op Funeral Service say they have been saddened by their inability to offer many services due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rules on social distancing.
Numbers at funerals have been limited to close family only, with no flowers and no reception afterwards in the funeral home’s catering suite because of the risk of infection.
The Mews suite in Upper Gungate has been shut since the Government ordered catering venues to close their doors on March 23 to limit the spread of the virus.
But now managers have pledged that customers who have been affected by the crisis will be offered the hire of the premises free of charge for belated receptions.
Amanda Woodward, general manager of Tamworth Co-op’s funeral division, said as community funeral providers they were keen to make a meaningful gesture of goodwill in these ‘difficult times.’
“We have been acutely aware that families who have lost someone close during this period have been unable to celebrate their life in the way they would have wished, with the support and comfort of their nearest and dearest,” she said.
“Many of them have told us they feel devastated that their relatives and friends have received an underwhelming send-off with few people present.
“This has greatly saddened us, but once this is all over we will be making our catering suite available for hire free of charge so that they can come together to pay tributes and share memories with their wider family and friends – just as they would normally have done immediately after the funeral. Obviously, if they should require catering, we would have to make a charge for that, but if they just want to use it for a celebration service or a family meeting room, then they can do so for free. We hope this will go some way towards helping them to come to terms with their loss and allowing us to provide a fitting farewell.
“Each life is unique and deserves to be commemorated. For some people a celebration of someone’s life is an important part of the healing process. I hope this gesture will help our customers to say a proper goodbye surrounded by their relatives and friends.”
The self-contained catering suite, with a private entrance and parking outside, has room for up to 50 guests with a fully licensed bar and a choice of buffet menus. Celebration services can be organised with hymns, songs or reflective music, service sheets and the attendance of a celebrant or minister. A projector and screen are available for showing precious family photographs and videos.
Anyone wishing to reserve the catering suite for a belated celebration of their loved one should email funeral.office@tamworth.coop to register their interest.
