Wigan funeral director explains why it has been a year like no other

While health and social care workers may have been the focus of the coronavirus pandemic, funeral directors have also played a vital role.

For sadly not everyone survives and whether they died with Covid-19 or from a completely unrelated cause, their loved ones still want to say goodbye.

Carina Jones has been involved in the funeral industry for more than 20 years, starting by helping out her father with the family business while she was still at school.

She is now a company director at R Banks and Son alongside her dad Brian Halliwell, who has been shielding for most of the year.

Carina said: “We have always worked alongside each other and he has not been in, so I have had to pick up the reins and go.

“I was only made a company director last October, so it’s all new to me really. It has been a baptism of fire.”

It has certainly been an interesting year for Carina, as she deals with running the firm’s 11 branches as well the impact of the pandemic.

“It has been alright actually, better than I expected,” she said. “I have always had my dad at the end of the phone.

“If there’s a problem, I can ask advice and he has supported me, but it has been new to be the one making the decisions.

“There have been so many changes in legislation and the rules with the social distancing and everything else. It has been a bit manic really.”

Social distancing has been perhaps the toughest change for Carina, particularly when she meets grieving families.

She said: “It is awkward. People are coming into our branches and have to wear masks.

“We wear masks and there are screens everywhere and hand sanitiser. This is not the environment we want for them as they are grieving.

“Our funeral directors are quite tactile and all we want to do is give them a hug.

“We don’t want to sit opposite them at a desk and be really regimental, but we have to for our safety and theirs.”

The circumstances can be particularly difficult if someone has died with coronavirus, as their loved ones may be isolating and arrangements have to be made by telephone instead. Carina, who lives in Shevington, said: “It has been hard. I don’t think people realise how much it affects us as funeral directors.

“Even though you are doing your job, you don’t feel like you are because you can’t comfort them.”

When someone has died with coronavirus, the body cannot be embalmed or viewed in the chapel by their loved ones.

One of the restrictions imposed by the Government during the pandemic has been the number of people allowed to attend funerals.

Carina, 35, said: “It’s getting easier now because the numbers allowed are going up. They are allowed 30 at the moment and they have to social distance.

“Right in the middle of it all we were down to 10 people at a funeral. Rather than having a church packed full of mourners, we found that we had just a few people.”

But friends and relatives were still keen to pay their respects and found a new way to honour those who had died.

Carina said: “If you are a well-known person, you can have hundreds of people wanting to go to the funeral.

“We changed the way we did things and rather than people missing it, we decided to do a route and people could tell their friends which route we would take.

“We would go from the deceased’s house and go along the road where their friends live or go to a local pub or church. We would find the streets lined with people and they would clap as we went past. It was really nice to be honest.

“We have done a few for employees from the hospital. On those occasions, Wigan Lane has been packed with people.

“They have been social distancing, but they have been waiting because they couldn’t go to the crematorium or to the church service.

“When you are sitting in the hearse and you see it, it’s phenomenal.”

With fewer people able to attend, funerals have been shown online as another way for mourners to say goodbye.

Carina said: “There’s always been in the crematorium the facility to have a webcast and no-one has ever really used it before. Now everyone will use it so people who can’t go to the funeral can see it at home.

“I do videos and photography and this year I have done quite a lot of them, especially for people who haven’t been able to travel from other parts of the country.”

While it has been a difficult year in her role as a funeral director, Carina has also been dealing with the pandemic on a personal level, just like everyone else.

Her husband Gareth also works at R Banks and Son, so they have both been very busy, while their daughter Annie has continued to go to school.

She said: “Trying to explain to a six-year-old why she can’t see her friends or her grandad has been hard.”

Carina recently received a surprise when she was nominated for a makeover and photo-shoot for her efforts during the pandemic. The pictures were printed in a national magazine and several newspaper supplements.

She said: “I was very surprised. Usually everyone says we are the forgotten profession.

“When the Government was naming key workers, we weren’t named originally until our professional body said we should be. We are always last in line.

“I was really surprised anyone nominated me.”

Carina praised the efforts of her staff, who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to honour those who have died and support their loved ones.

And as she makes her own way as a company director, she continues to focus on her family’s legacy.

She said: “I really hope that this year I have made my dad proud and my grandad proud.”

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