Own funeral held for “a few hundred pounds”

words: Michael Fern

The Sunday Times has reported on a man who laid his wife to rest without any funeral director involvement, keeping her at home for a week before the cremation.

After Wendy Davison died, her husband Russell said he wanted to be in control of what would happen, originally planning to burn her body on a pyre, before settling for a cremation on learning this was illegal.

He said: “The whole funeral cost us a few hundred pounds, when the average in Britain is several thousand pounds.

“And what are you really paying for? A fridge and a taxi.”

He said that he and the couple’s four sons had also nursed her at home during her final months, and when Wendy died she was kept in her bedroom for six days before the cremation. A memorial was then held last month.

Mr Davison added: “I did not want her in the mortuary or handed over to a funeral director.

“I wanted us to take care of her ourselves at our family home, and have her in our bedroom so I could sleep in the same room.

“I was sure this would be a comfort to us all but again I am truly amazed about what has happened; having Wendy’s body at home and being able to sit with her all day, have her friends and family come to sit with her, chat with her, chat about her and light candles and incense on her alter proved to be such a beautiful and comforting experience for me, the boys and all that are taking part.”

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