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Totnes in Devon, a town known for its bohemian vibe, is now home to three of the 14 prizes that were up for grabs at the recent Good Funeral Guide Awards.
Bidwell Woodland Burial was named as Cemetery of the Year, while Simon Smith and Jane Morrell of greenfuse and Rupert and Claire Callender of the Green Funeral Company – all well known names in Funeral Service Times – were joint winners in the Best Funeral Director category.
Remarking about the perception of Totnes as an ‘alternative’ town, Rupert Callender said that the funerals hosted there were anything but: “We’re not catering to the ‘hippy’ middle classes. We’re here to help families, listen to them and involve them as much as possible so they know there are a lot more choices and can find something that suits them personally.”
When appearing in the ‘Your Story’ feature of FST earlier this year, Claire Callender remarked that the most enjoyable aspect of the work was “empowering people, and seeing the healing that can come for a family out of a good funeral.”
Speaking about what makes the Green Funeral Company stand out, Rupert concluded: “It’s just the two of us, so everything that happens, from the first phone call to picking up and dealing with the body, is done by us.
“We join the family for the period between the death and the funeral.”
Image: Rupert and Claire Callender of the Green Funeral Company.
