Funeral Trends 2015...Traditional funerals are still prevalent in UK society with three quarters (75 per cent*) of adults having never attended a service falling outside of this. Interestingly

Funeral Trends 2015 The ways we say goodbye

Media Report

IntroductionTraditionally, a funeral is a ceremony held in a formal setting, where friends and family of the deceased arrive in dark, formal dress, to pay their respects and say their final farewells to a loved one, before a social gathering known as a wake takes place.

But these traditions may not be set to last forever. Based on its experience in conducting over 90,000 services every year, the UK’s national funeral provider, The Co-operative Funeralcare, has discovered a shift in the UKs perception of funerals. With a move towards uniquely tailored tributes, this first section of a two part report not only reveals the statistics behind these trends, but also brings to life some of the UK’s most individual send-offs to date.

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Recently I did a service for a gentleman who was a lifelong fan of the programme ‘Only Fools and Horses’. His family wanted a fitting tribute and for him to be taken to his final resting place in true Del Boy fashion – in a Reliant Robin Hearse, so that is what we did.

Arthur Thompson, 58, Funeral Director, South Wales

The one I will always recall is a funeral we arranged for a lorry driver who travelled to his funeral in the same HGV that he drove for work. We worked closely with his employer to make sure every detail was as it should be and he went to his final resting place in his lorry with his beloved team’s football shirt attached to the back.

Julie Gibson, 49, Leighton Buzzard

Are we waving goodbye to the traditional funeral?Traditional funerals are still prevalent in UK society with three quarters (75 per cent*) of adults having never attended a service falling outside of this. Interestingly however, half (51 per cent) of adults didn’t realise that a funeral could take place outside of a religious setting and two fifths (38 per cent) didn’t know that you could personalise every aspect of a funeral.

One in two said they would like their favourite song played at their funeral

50%One in four said they’d like guests to wear bright colours as opposed to black

26%

One in fourteen would opt for an alternative hearse that says something about them as a person

8%

Individuals are taking a creative approach when personalising their final send-offs as funeral directors have seen an increase in requests for unique coffins. In the last 12 months we’ve had the following requests:***

When we presented UK adults with the range of possibilities, two fifths (37 per cent) said they would like to personalise their funeral in the following ways:

One in three of funeral directors have had requests for a banana leaf or bamboo coffin

33%One in seven have been asked about personalised picture coffins

14%

One in ten received requests for a cardboard coffin

10%One in fourteen have conducted at least one service where loved ones wrote a personal message on the coffin itself

7%

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Funeral Trends 2015 Funeral Trends 2015

One in 6 want their funeral to include a themed aspect

16%

Departing in style: The rise of the alternative hearseDuring their time working in the funeral industry, two fifths (38 per cent) of funeral directors have arranged a service involving an alternative hearse with requests for a horse drawn hearse topping the list, followed by a motorcycle, those hearses specific to the deceased’s line of work, a vintage hearse, Cadillac and a tandem bicycle hearse.

When Alistair Kerr lost his father Alex in July last year there was only one way his coffin was getting to the crematorium, by bus:

Everyone was cheerier. It wasn’t a normal drab, sad time. People were flabbergasted. Folk were taking photos on their phones.

Alistair Kerr, Scotland

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Unique tributes are a way of recognising and remembering a loved one for who they were, making it personal to them. I recently arranged a funeral for a lady who, for the majority of her life owned and trained horses. We arranged for her

last journey to be in a horse drawn carriage which was led by her granddaughter, a keen horse rider, making it even more of a personal send-off.

Clare Dyson, 31, Funeral Director, Swinton

Location, location, location: The destination funeralAccording to funeral directors at The Co-operative Funeralcare, the ‘destination funeral’ has begun to take off and in the last 12 months, half (49 per cent) of funeral directors have arranged at least one funeral falling outside of a religious setting, with requests received as follows:

While many people hadn’t realised that it’s possible to have a funeral outside of a religious setting, when asked, two fifths (37 per cent) of people liked the idea of their loved ones paying tribute in a place which is personal to them.

Requests handled by Funeral Directors during their time working in the industry Where do people want their funerals?

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• One in 3 (33%) have had requests for the funeral to take place at the deceased’s home

• One in 9 (11%) have been asked for the funeral to take place in the deceased’s garden

• One in 11 (9%) have been asked to conduct the service abroad

• One in 13 (12%) have received requests for the service to take place in a sports venue

• One in 13 (12%) for it to take place at a local beauty spot, park or tourist attraction

• One in 20 (5%) at the deceased’s place of work

• One in 4 (25%) specified that their funeral should be by a lake or a river

• One in 5 (20%) in the countryside

• One in 6 (16%) would want the service to be conducted at their house, street or garden

• One in 7 (15%) on a beach

• One in 13 (12%) out at sea

• One in 11 (9%) on a mountain

• One in 25 (4%) at a football ground

• One in 33 (3%) at their local park

• One in 3 (33%) have had requests for a funeral to take place at a deceased’s home

• One in 9 (11%) for the funeral to take place in the deceased’s garden

• One in 11 (9%) asked to conduct the service abroad

• One in 13 (12%) to take place in a sports venue

• One in 13 (12%) for the funeral to take place at a local beauty spot, park or tourist attraction


• One in 3 (33%) have had requests for the funeral to take place at the deceased’s home

• One in 9 (11%) have been asked for the funeral to take place in the deceased’s garden

• One in 11 (9%) have been asked to conduct the service abroad

• One in 13 (12%) have received requests for the service to take place in a sports venue

• One in 13 (12%) for it to take place at a local beauty spot, park or tourist attraction


• One in 4 (25%) specified that their funeral should be by a lake or a river


• One in 6 (16%) would want the service to be conducted at their house, street or garden






• One in 4 (25%) by a lake or a river


• One in 6 (16%) at their house, street or garden






Funeral fashionsClothing is one aspect that has changed over time as traditionally, it would have perhaps been frowned upon to attend a funeral in anything other than black. However, the shift towards wearing colour at funerals has emerged and is set to increase in popularity over time.

In the last 12 months almost three quarters (72 per cent) of funeral directors have conducted a funeral where mourners wore a colour different to black and half (48 per cent) arranged services where attendees have gone a step further by wearing a unique item of significance to the deceased, such as a football scarf.

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I think it’s fair to say that I went the extra mile to fulfil a family’s wises. Lorna Johnson

sadly passed away aged just 56, and whilst her family were devastated to see her go, they were adamant that her final send-off would be a chance to celebrate her life exactly the way she would have wanted.

Lorna’s family opted for her funeral to be a chance to acknowledge all of the things that she loved and as a white witch (good witchcraft) and a sci-fi fanatic, they chose to say their final goodbyes in Halloween and Star Wars fancy dress. I led the funeral service as the one and only, Darth Vader.

Brett Houghton, 52, Funeral Director, Luton,

My mum was a truly wonderful and unique person. Everybody loved her and we wanted to acknowledge everything that she loved by celebrating her life at her funeral. Mum loved Halloween so we chose to wear witch hats and Halloween costumes to pay tribute to her life. Mum was the life and soul and so we decided to have a party not a wake.

Neil Johnson, son of the late Lorna Johnson commenting on his Mum’s themed funeral

Rise of the techy funeral

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With 94 per cent of UK adults having some form of online presence**, it’s no surprise that 5 per cent of people have attended a funeral which included video content.

When thinking about their own funeral, over a tenth (13 per cent) said they would like photos or film footage of their life to be shown.

Amongst the younger generation, thoughts are also moving towards online streaming of their funeral with 5 per cent of 18-24 year-olds already considering this as an option.

A shift away from sombre send-offsThe role of the funeral director is quickly becoming more alike to that of an event planner, with two fifths (43 per cent) of UK adults seeing similarities between the roles.

It’s likely that this trend is set to increase with two thirds (66 per cent) of adults saying that funerals are becoming more of a celebration of life rather than a sombre occasion and half (47 per cent) of UK adults wanting this for themselves.

Funeral directors echo this with 80 per cent having conducted funerals in the last 12 months which have included a tone of celebration.

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We find that when someone has passed away before their time and at a younger age, their families do want to do something more unique and personal with colour tending to feature more often.

Julie Gibson, 49, Funeral Director, Leighton Buzzard

I recently arranged a service for a young man who was a keen Manchester United football fan. He had a Manchester United themed coffin and we drove the hearse passed the football ground. Manchester United welcomed the family on to the pitch where they later scattered the gentleman’s ashes. Whilst the circumstances surrounding this day were very sad, the family made an occasion of the service and were taken on a tour around the stadium and the wake was held at the ground where the family had a meal.

Paula Mahon, 41, Funeral Director, Manchester

A party instead of a wakeMany people are starting to take more of a creative approach when planning a wake with a third, (30 per cent) of people wanting a party over a wake and over a tenth (12 per cent) of adults saying they’d like a cake at their wake.

As when planning a party, location is also key when arranging a wake. When presented with a range of locations, a fifth (20 per cent) of adults said they’d want their wake beside the seaside or on a boat out at sea. A quarter (23 per cent) would use their local pub, a fifth (15 per cent) their local community club, a tenth (11 per cent) would like a disco or for their wake to take place at a bar or nightclub.

would like a disco or for their wake to take place at a bar or nightclub

11%would use their local pub

23%

of people say they‘d like a cake at their wake

12%of adults said they’d want their wake beside the seaside or on a boat out at sea

20%

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would use their local community club

15%

Death is the most certain thing in life but as a nation we struggle so terribly to talk about

it and come to terms with our own and others mortality. Life is short and so I understand why people don’t want to dwell on the inevitable, but as the possibilities are endless, it makes sense to at least share some thoughts about what you may want. Whilst I haven’t planned my own funeral, I know that I would want people to have a good time, a party perhaps.

Actor Richard Wilson, star of One Foot in the Grave and narrator of end of life documentary Two Feet in the Grave

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It’s a real privilege to be able to fulfil a person’s individual wishes about their funeral. A recent client of ours spoke in detail to his eldest son about what he wanted. He asked for a cardboard coffin on which his loved ones could hand-write their thoughts and messages for him to take to his final resting place.

Phil Williams, 57, Funeral Director, the Wirral

What we’re seeing is a culture shift in the way that we deal with loss. It’s becoming ever more common to hear people refer to funerals as a celebration of life and that’s certainly a trend we are seeing even more frequently from the families that we support. As arranging a funeral is the last thing we’ll do for a person, it’s incredibly important to feel able to create a truly unique and personal tribute to their life.

Sam Kershaw, Operations Director for The Co-operative Funeralcare

A service which really sticks in my mind is one that we arranged for a little boy who sadly passed away aged just four. His mum

and dad understandably were completely devastated about losing their son and found it really quite difficult to even begin to think about making arrangements for his funeral. After getting to know the family and hearing about their little boy I suggested that we create a coffin which would include pictures of his favourite super heroes and instead of traditional flowers at the service we chose balloons. The family were able to channel some of their grief into creating a unique send of for their special little boy. It really is amazing that we are able to do things like this for families.

Paula Mahon, 41, Funeral Director, Manchester

It’s evident that personalised send-off’s and destination wakes aren’t just for the deceased, with half (49 per cent) of UK adults saying that these types of funerals are a nice way to say goodbye to a loved one and a third (30 per cent) saying they are a comfort to those left behind.

The impact of unique funerals

Lauren HoultPress and Media Relations [email protected] 505 626

Emily DaltonPress [email protected] 621 201

Catherine Turner Head of Consumer Services PR and CEO Comms [email protected] 090 783

AboutThe Co-operative Funeralcare is the UK’s number one funeral services provider and part of The Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest co-operative business, whose purpose is “Championing a better way of doing business for you and your communities.”

Further information is available at www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk

*Research was conducted by ICM in July 2015 amongst over 2000 UK adults aged 18 and above, across all regions in the UK.

**Research was conducted by ICM in January 2015 amongst over 2500 UK adults, aged 18 and above, across all regions of the UK

***Research was conducted in August 2015. Figures relate to requests made to 350 Funeral Directors at The Co-operative Funeralcare

Media ContactsFor further information about this report please contact:

Twitter: @CoopFuneralcare

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https://twitter.com/coopfuneralcare

Documents

Funeral Trends 2015...Traditional funerals are still prevalent in UK society with three quarters (75 per cent*) of adults having never attended a service falling outside of this. Interestingly