'Demystifying' death with a Dingwall funeral home's Doors Open Day
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A Dingwall funeral home is opening its doors to the public in the hope of 'demystifying' death.
Vicki Fraser, proprietor of family firm John Fraser and Son, is inviting anyone who is interested to call in to the funeral home at any time between 10am – 3pm on August 18.
Visitors to the funeral home at Lovat House in Dingwall will be given an opportunity to visit the on-site mortuary, the rest room facilities, and the showroom, where a range of coffins, ashes caskets, scatter tubes, and bespoke memorial jewellery will be on display.
The firm’s fleet of silver limousines and hearses will be parked up front, and their in-house craftsmen will be on site, demonstrating the skills required to engrave and finish a memorial stone. Friendly team members will be on hand throughout to answer any questions, whether that be about care of the deceased, options for funerals, pre–paid funeral plans or memorial stones.
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“Death is something many people are still not comfortable talking about. Our main purpose is to demystify what happens when a person comes into our care, and to help people to understand what to expect and prepare for their own funerals, and those of their loved ones."
John Fraser and Son have previously held Doors Open Days in their funeral home in Chapel Street, Inverness, but next Friday will be the first time the public has been invited behind the scenes in Lovat House. The occasion is part of a series of events to mark the firm’s first ten years in the Ross-shire town, and Vicki says her team is grateful for the warm welcome they have received since 2013.
She said: “Death is something many people are still not comfortable talking about. Our main purpose is to demystify what happens when a person comes into our care, and to help people to understand what to expect and prepare for their own funerals, and those of their loved ones.
“Very often, when family members come to see us to arrange a loved one’s funeral, they are having to make decisions about things that they have never properly discussed with the deceased. There is a real pressure on them to get the funeral ‘right’, but if people haven’t openly discussed how they would like to be remembered, that can be hard on those who are left behind.
“Members of the public who have come along to our Doors Open Days in Inverness over the past few years have found it to be really interesting. Most of all, though, they have said they felt reassured.
“The visits have helped people to start a conversation with their own families about what they would like their own funerals to be like; whether they’d like to be cremated or buried, what sort of celebrant or music they’d like, and what kind of coffin they would prefer.”
“There are so many myths and misunderstandings that we have been able to put people right about during the tours; for example, about what can be placed in a coffin with a loved one, where funeral services can be held, and what happens if someone wants to donate their body to medical science.
While the funeral home will still be operational during the Doors Open Day, with people in their care, Vicki is keen to stress that the privacy and dignity of the deceased will always be preserved.
John Fraser and Son’s Doors Open Day will be at their Lovat House Funeral Home in Dingwall on Friday August 18, 10am – 3.00pm. Brief tours will be offered, and refreshments will be available. If anyone is interested in knowing more but unable to make it along on Friday, appointments can be made at any time.
