Wathall’s Memorial Service Gives Families Time to Remember Loved Ones

More than 800 people are expected to attend a special early evening Service of Remembrance and Hope at Derby Cathedral on Thursday December 12 organised by family-owned funeral directors, Wathall’s.

Wathall’s, which is Derby’s longest established independent funeral directors, organises the memorial service every year – inviting families who have lost loved ones during this and past years.

They will be joined by members of Dandelions Bereavement Support groups in Derby and Ashbourne as well as representatives from local churches, hospitals and nursing homes.

The early evening inter-faith service will include Christmas carols, readings and will finish with the moving poem by a 13-year-old boy ‘My First Christmas in Heaven’. The service will be BSL interpreted by Sarah Gatford.

Staff from Wathall’s branches in Derby, Alvaston, Borrowash and Ashbourne will then serve refreshments and families are invited to light a candle and hang a message of remembrance on a memory Christmas tree.

Managing Director Helen Wathall MBE is the fifth generation of her family to run the company.

She explained: “The memorial service is an opportunity to remember their loved ones at what is an especially difficult time of year.

 “We organised the first service in 2008 and it has grown every year with some people returning every December to remember a family member – joined by those who have been more recently bereaved.

 “Every year we support a local charity at the service and this year’s donations will be go towards Safe and Sound’s Butterfly Appeal.  The charity supports victims and those at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and their families across the county as well as raising awareness of the dangers to young people in local communities.”

For more information about the memorial service and about Dandelions Bereavement Support, please call Wathall’s Tel: 01332 345268 or visit www.wathalls.co.uk