‘We become your teammate, guiding you through each step’

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Emily Moore talks to Pitcher & Le Quesne business lead Christina Jarvis to find out how the team does everything possible to ensure that each final farewell is a fitting tribute to that person’s life

IT is often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression but, as Christina Jarvis points out, you also only get one chance to say a final farewell to someone.

And it is for this reason, says the business lead of Pitcher & Le Quesne Funeral Directors, that the company’s 22-strong team will do everything they can to ensure that each person’s final farewell is “a fitting tribute to the life they led”.

“We realise that when someone contacts us to notify us of a loved one’s death and to start arranging their funeral, they are going through one of the most difficult times of their life,” Christina said. “We are here to give them whatever help and support they need, something which our team do naturally, while always showing the highest levels of dignity, respect and empathy.

“There are so many elements involved with planning a funeral, and our aim is to ease that process for our families. This is particularly important as, in a number of cases, the decisions to be made are ones which you may well have discussed with the person you’ve lost. We therefore become your teammate, supporting and guiding you through each step from choosing the venue for the service to selecting the coffin, flowers and music, and putting together the order of service.”

When working with families to make those choices, Christina adds that clients benefit from the wealth of knowledge amassed by the company’s funeral directors, arrangers and assistants, many of whom have been with Pitcher & Le Quesne for decades.

“Andy Errington-Rennell and Gareth John, two of our funeral directors, have been with us for 36 and 15 years respectively, while funeral director assistant Darren Whelan has been here for 25 years,” she said. “Their experiences over that time mean they are perfectly placed to advise and guide families, make suggestions and let people know about options they may not have thought of.”

And those options, she says, are ever-growing, with the nature of funerals having changed significantly over the company’s 125-year history.

Indeed, when the Pitcher family acquired Sinnats and Connerys funeral directors – which held records going back to the 1820s – in the 1930s, funerals tended to be very sombre, traditional affairs.

Now, while dignity remains integral to all services, there is much more choice and freedom, enabling people to organise funerals which reflect the personality and interests of their loved one.

“Typically, we offer three different services: Unattended Cremation, The Simple Funeral and The Tailored Funeral,” said Christina. “As its name suggests, the tailored offer gives people a wide range of options to explore and if they want their loved one to arrive in a motorcycle hearse, a horse-drawn hearse or even a double-decker bus, we will arrange it. Nothing is off the table.”

In many cases, she adds, the person whose funeral it is has had a say in the arrangements, having filled out the firm’s Funeral Guidelines.

“These guidelines cover everything from where they would like to be buried or where they would like their ashes to be scattered, down to any readings or pieces of music that they would like to have in the service,” she said. “While some people may be reluctant to think about their death and funeral, taking some time to fill out one of these booklets can be tremendously helpful to loved ones, as knowing what their relative or friend wanted can reduce the number of decisions they have to make while grieving.”

Once the decisions have been made, says Christina, the team ensure that everything is ordered and implemented, so that the families don’t have to “worry about anything”.

“This is where each member of the team comes into their own,” she said. “While our families will turn to their funeral director for support and advice, we also have an outstanding team behind the scenes, attending to every detail, so that you don’t have to worry about whether the flowers or order of service will be there, or whether the limousines will turn up on time.”

And while the team is continuing to grow, with Paul Kemp having recently joined as a funeral director and Roslyn Gomersall as an administrator, each member “learns from the history and experience of long-standing employees” and shares similar characteristics.

“I feel that, for most of the team, working here is a calling rather than a job,” said Christina. “I am in awe of the team, their abilities and understanding, and the way in which they so patiently support people during their time of grief. They never rush anyone and as soon as they see a need, they fill it, so there are no gaps.

“Crucially, whenever we employ anyone, we look at their personality. While you can teach paperwork and administration skills, you can’t teach empathy. That is something people either have or they don’t and, out of respect for the families we work with, empathy is one of the most important characteristics for our team members to have. When someone telephones, having just lost a loved one, they often don’t know which way is up, so knowing that they will be speaking to someone who will respond with patience and empathy is essential.”

And that professionalism and empathy remain, she says, when the team are involved with repatriating people who die away from home.

“Jersey is a very international island, with a diverse population, and our team will, when needed, accompany the hearse to the UK and arrange its onward conveyance if someone has died here and wants to be buried or cremated in their home country,” she said.

“Similarly, if an Islander has passed away abroad, or in hospital in the UK, we will liaise with a funeral director in the UK to arrange their repatriation. In most cases, these repatriations take place by boat and the level of respect shown to the deceased by both the crews and our team is tremendous.”

Empathy is one of the most important characteristics for our team members to have

Christina Jarvis

While it would be easy to think that Pitcher and Le Quesne’s work comes to an end after the funeral, Christina stresses that this is not the case.

“We pride ourselves on the fact that we are still here after the funeral and continue to offer support to our families,” she said. “We can also arrange memorial services if required, and we have worked with Ashes Into Glass for many years, who create jewellery and keepsakes by combining the cremation ashes with coloured glass crystals to give people a deeply personal and meaningful symbol of love and togetherness.”

Having joined Pitcher & Le Quesne nearly two years ago, having previously been a deputy superintendent registrar in the Island, Christina describes her role as business lead as one that gives “support and guidance to the team, while driving growth by setting strategic direction, fostering innovation and championing continuous improvement to ensure long-term success”.

“My role is making sure that the team have everything they need to be able to do their job seamlessly,” she said. “Pitcher & Le Quesne can trace its roots back more than 125 years and while the people who are working here now won’t be around in 100 years’ time, my goal is to future-proof the business, so that it continues to serve the community for the next 100 years.”