Planning for a Good End

Planning For A Good End Mum helps others in new career

The loss of a beloved son has led an Aberdeenshire mum to offer bereaved families a personalised way to remember loved ones.

When Ben Gray died suddenly, his family wanted to remember him in a way that paid tribute to the man he was.

His mum, Isabel Addison, said: “Ben lived with Cystic Fibrosis, which we knew would limit his life, but when we lost him it was a terrible shock. "We wanted Ben’s service to reflect who he was, and so as a family we gathered together the limited pieces of information he had shared. The only thing we knew for certain was that he wanted his guitar placed on top of his coffin. "Ben loved playing his guitar and was passionate about it. He especially loved 70s rock music. Ben’s dad said that Ben wanted Burn by Deep Purple played at his funeral.” But other than that, everything was guess work. It was an extremely stressful and worrying time. Even now Isabel still questions if she got it right.

When it came to his eulogy, Isabel wrote that herself, collecting stories from family and friends and getting those close

Isabel is a funeral Celebrant and End of Life Practitioner

She offers a unique and tailored approach to Planning for a Good End

Funeral Services | Memorial Services Eulogy Writing | Interment/Scattering of Ashes Pet Funerals | Living Funerals End of Life Planning

Get in touch if you would like to find out more about her services: isabel@legacycelebrant.org.uk | 07846 689884 www.legacycelebrant.org.uk

to Ben involved, especially his closest friend. Often Isabel would think: “I wish I’d known that about him when he was alive.”

Working in care management, Isabel came across people who were approaching the end of their lives. She would often ask if they had thought about what they wanted to happen when the time came and most had never had that discussion with their loved ones. On one occasion when she asked this question her client responded by saying her son refused to discuss this and that she was relieved to be having that conversation with someone.

As a result, Isabel has trained and is now an accredited Independent Funeral Celebrant. This means that she can plan and run a funeral or memorial service that is a true reflection of the deceased. She is also offering a Funeral Planning service where your wishes are recorded so that your loved ones do not have to worry if they are getting it right.

Talking to the living about death is never easy, but it is an accepted part of coming to terms with the end of life, with cancer chariti es recommending the step aft er a terminal diagnosis.

Isabel feels it is important that other families have the opportunity to have a deeply personal and loving funeral: “Being able to remember the person the way they want to be remembered is very important and I work with the family to make it a commemorati on of the person, their life and loves.”

At a ti me when we are unable to say goodbye to our loved ones the way we would like, Isabel is also able to advise on memorial events: “It’s important that we come together to share our memories, as it is an important part of our healing. I hope that what I am doing is able to help, even in a small way.”

Call 07846 689884 or email isabel@ legacycelebrant.org.uk

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