Meet the team

David, Head of Operations

“As Head of Operations, I have a lot of decisions to make, but at the heart of each is always the same question: ‘Would our families be happy with that?’

“Treating people as we would want to be treated is the philosophy at the heart of everything we do, whether supporting families at their time of need, or caring for their loved ones.  

“And that desire to constantly enhance our service means we are driving up standards and investing in our state-of-the-art facilities. Treating everyone who enters our doors with compassion and dignity throughout their time with us.”

Steph, Crematorium Manager

“The whole job is so rewarding,” she says. “Being able to be with someone's loved one on their final journey. I think that's the most important thing to any of us.

“We are able to look after people from all different walks of life. Some people have had long lives with lots of stories to tell, and some people's lives have been cut far too short. But we treat everyone with the utmost care and respect and dignity at all times.

“I think Pure Cremation is unique because it offers families the freedom to choose. There are no time constraints, no added pressures. They can create a service or have a memorial. They can go for a picnic or a drink in the pub, or go to a destination where fond memories have been made previously.

“There aren't those added pressures of a traditional funeral, of having a fixed date and time and everything leading up to that, when the family are trying to grieve. They're trying to mourn the life of their loved one. So taking away that pressure and allowing them to have a service or a celebration of life when they're ready, they can make it truly unique.

“And we really try to fulfil any wishes that the family have. So, if there's a favourite piece of music that they'd like played or a poem, a reading, we're more than happy to do that for them.

“We've had letters sent in which are really personal, and it's really special to be able to read them out for someone, just knowing how much people cared about them.”

Jay, Deputy Crematorium Manager

“We all have our own IDs, so we track who is looking after someone, and someone in our care will have an individual person with them all the way through.

“They will check for jewellery and pacemakers and anything with a battery that can't be cremated. We'll have instructions from the family as to whether the jewellery is to remain with them throughout the cremation process, or whether the family would like that to go home with them, in which case we will remove those items. We will lock them in our safe, ready for going home.

“My special part of my job is that families entrust their loved ones to us. They don't know us, but they trust us to look after them as if they were our own family.

“For every cremation, the technician will walk with the deceased until we can't walk any further. We will always bow. There are no exceptions – we always bow.

“Sometimes families request us to play music, which we’ll do. Or they might ask us to read a poem or the Lord's Prayer or even read a letter, and we will do that.

“I had a gentleman come to see his dad and he wasn't sure what to do. I said that I'd make him a cup of tea – when he was a boy he used to make tea for his dad. So I made a cup of tea for him and his dad. And we placed a cup of tea for his dad on his coffin and the gentleman was delighted with that. There's lots of little things that we will do.

“A pure cremation gives families the opportunity to celebrate the life rather than 
going to a funeral, nobody likes going to a funeral. It's nice that they can have 
a celebration afterwards."

Marc, Private Ambulance Team Leader

“I think there's something really rewarding about what we do. Pure was originally a family business, and that family feel is still here. But the professionalism is above and beyond anything I've seen anywhere else.

“And the families know that we want to help and do the best we can for them. 
So I think there’s something quite special we have here.”

Ryan, Ashes Return Specialist

“I consider my role a huge privilege. I have the chance to help families through one of the most difficult times of their lives. By returning a loved ones; ashes, I hope in some way it helps bring them a sense of closure.

“To me, it's more than just a job, it's a chance to offer care and compassion when it's most needed.”

Karen, Funeral Plan Specialist

“It’s a very sensitive subject for some,” she says, “but matter of fact for others. However, they all have one thing in common, they need their arrangements to be handled with sensitivity, empathy, care and professionalism.

“For me, my customers come first, I stay connected with them during their decision making and I want them to know they are in safe hands and can then be confident afterwards that all has been arranged how they want it to be, and then they can live their best life.”