What People Say

Testimonials

I'm so pleased that I chose Ruth to conduct the service for my wife's funeral.Ruth spent several hours gathering information about my wife's life and who she was.The effort was well worth while,i couldn't be more pleased with the way the service was conducted,and everyone who attended remarked on what a beautiful service it was.I would have no hesitation in recommending Ruth to anyone who was considering a Humanist ceremony.Once again,thank you so much Ruth. - Charles B

Ruth led two beautiful services for my dad’s passing; a formal one at the crematorium and then a much smaller one to intern the ashes. Many guests commented on what a lovely service it had been and some even asked if she had known Dad. I think this is testament to what a good job she did. - Claire Shearn

Ruth was the celebrant who led the service for my Dad. My two sisters and I were very impressed and touched by how much time and care Ruth took ‘getting to know our Dad’, through our shared memories. We and everyone attending the service really felt she painted a true picture of my Dad’s life and character. Ruth encouraged us to make the service as personal as we wished, gently suggesting possibilities. Ruth led the service with compassion and sensitivity. We will always be grateful for the support she provided. Family of Mr Alan Griffin

“The family were all very pleased with all aspects of Ruth's work with the family, the time spent with us in preparation, how well her writing summed Andrew up, her excellent and respectful delivery at the ceremony and her very warm, caring and friendly approach. Quite a number of people attending the ceremony commented on how impressed they were with Ruth.” - Mary Rhodes

”In May 2021, I suffered the heartbreak of delivering our daughter stillborn. It’s almost impossible to put our comments in to words, it’s something I wouldn’t wish for anyone in the world to experience. The thought of dealing with a burial of a child was inconceivable at the time however, finding Ruth was an absolute blessing.

My partner and I very much appreciate the humanist approach that Ruth offers and decided to make contact. Immediately we were drawn to Ruth’s compassionate, yet warm and friendly nature. In the short virtual meeting we had, Ruth had managed to captivate the essence of exactly how my partner and I felt, regarding the loss of our baby, Violet. She had managed to transform the pain of death in to a celebration of life! We were offered to have full control over what was said at Violet’s service with the opportunity to proof read and amend the script beforehand. We didn’t need to edit anything, Ruth’s words were perfect! I felt so much comfort in knowing that every word, thought and feeling I wished to expressed would be communicated by Ruth in my final goodbye.

On the day of the funeral, Ruth arrived early and took care of every detail we had prearranged. She showed true professionalism and kindness not only to ourselves but also our family and friends.

My partner and I had a small budget to organise Violet’s service, but this didn’t impact on how Ruth treated us. In fact, she was extremely accommodating to our circumstances. The financial aspect was treated sensitively throughout. We would highly recommend Ruth as a celebrant for any loved one. We are beyond happy with the final memories of our little girl that she provided.

Thank you so much Ruth!” — Laura Bristow

“We felt really lucky to have found Ruth, we have never planned a funeral before and she was so understanding and helpful. Our initial meeting was done during lockdown via zoom! Despite this, Ruth managed to collect all our jumbled threads of stories about our Dad/Husband and put them into a comprehensive ceremony which was 100% perfect. She summed up Dad and who he was perfectly, it was as though she knew him. Ruth sent us an initial draft which we tweaked a little and we found it really helpful seeing what the ceremony looked like before it happened. Nothing was unknown and we felt prepared. It also felt like we were writing it together. After the ceremony Ruth gave us beautiful copies of the service, this was above and beyond what we were expecting. We really felt in very safe hands with Ruth and my Mum loved her so much that she has requested Ruth holds her funeral! Hopefully that is a while off! but, I think that is a true reflection of Ruth's work. Ruth was able to give Dad a farewell that was truly perfect for him, he would have loved it! Thank you, Ruth, for your work, start to finish you did an amazing job, we truly appreciate what you did for us all.” - The Knights and Smiths x

“Ruth was sensitive and intelligent throughout and despite these difficult times made an extra effort in her research about my uncle and to ensure a fitting tribute to him.”

”From the moment I spoke with Ruth, I felt at ease. She was able to discuss my bereavement in an entirely understanding manner. Through our subsequent conversations, Ruth was able to extract salient points about my mother’s character and past life and skilfully weave them into the tribute. On the day, her delivery was warm, very supportive and professional; the assembled mourners all felt that the ceremony couldn’t have been bettered.”

“I wanted to say a huge thank you to you for the fabulous service as we said goodbye to my beautiful sister, the girls’ amazing mum and Lizzie and J’s incredible Nan and Nanna. You capture the true essence of Chris in every way. So very grateful to you for making Chris’s journey so memorable. Thank you so much” - Lilian Kenneth

“Ruth was an amazing celebrant. She took such care, consideration and love in understanding our loved one who had died. She really captured the essence of who he was and I am truly grateful to her for making such a very difficult occasion such a beautiful one. She is full of empathy and has the professionalism which means that we all felt supported and held through such a heart-breaking time. I can't recommend Ruth highly enough. A gifted lady.” - Ros

“The ceremony was perfect and tribute really reflected the life of our mum. People loved finding out about the bits of her life that they didn't know about which is very special.” - Felicity and Miranda

“She listened to exactly what we wanted and achieved even more.” - Adrienne and Barry

“The funeral service for my dad was perfect in every way.  You played a huge part in making it such a personal ceremony, from the words that you had written to your warmth, which shone through. It was clear how much work you had put into it. Dad would have loved it. The fact that so many of the family could play their part in the ceremony was a great comfort to us all and especially to my mum. As we drove to the reception after the service mum said she felt uplifted and would do for some time.  I think this is the highest accolade she could have given.  So, thank you again for helping us to celebrate dad’s long and happy life.” - Jill Reidy

“Ruth was outstanding, blending sincerity with a natural and easy delivery which spoke directly to family and friends. It was indeed a celebration of my wife Barbara. Ruth had visited us and talked with Barbara before her death, as well as talking to me and our children Roland and Elaine. The result was an occasion shorn of morbidity, it was intimate, warm, moving and uplifting.

We as a family had been dreading it. Instead, it was a wonderful day, elevated and inspirational, and this was largely due to the sympathetic and vibrant atmosphere established by the celebrant.” - Dr Graham Handley

“Yesterday was beautiful, and I felt very connected to love through the service, at the pub, and since. I’ve been surrounded by friends and holding a sense of L with me. I was actually dreading the service, and in the event, it was so affirming, I have felt sustained by it.” - AP

“A moving and personal experience, exactly what we wanted.” - JC

“A really lovely, moving celebration which was praised by everyone who attended.” - R

“Ruth was just wonderful both before the funeral with her patience and good humour as we ploughed through the many drafts but especially during the event itself.  The service was perfectly delivered and everyone has come back to us saying how good it was and how her warmth and humanity bought it all to life and made it such a memorable occasion. My most striking memory though was feeling quite overwhelmed in the limo arriving at the burial ground.  I looked through the window and saw her smiling at me – It just set me totally at ease and at peace with what was to come. It was a small thing but it had a large impact and I think it showed her ability and experience in how difficult these days are and how a little gesture can help someone so much.

The burial itself was incredibly moving and again her delivery and presence made it all hang together in a way that I will always remember as special rather than distressing.” - Mr. Ewan Davids

“Thank you so much for making one of the worst days I have ever had to go through a bit more bearable. Everything you had written about Mum was spot on and 100% her. Many people came up to us at the wake and had never been to a Humanist funeral before but told us how special the service was and how much your talk was purely about Mum and her life which is exactly what we wanted, and you did that for us.

I am so pleased I chose you to conduct the service and I cannot thank you enough for putting those special words on paper for me and Sarah to keep. Your words today were carefully chosen in everything you wrote about mum and many people told me that felt like you knew our mum too, which is what both me and Sarah wanted and that’s exactly what you did. We didn’t want someone to read off a piece of paper with no feelings towards her but you did it with such grace and justice and we were extremely pleased with everything that you said.” - Hannah & Sarah

“I know that you spent a lot of time speaking to friends and relatives across the world to collate the tribute to E, as well as being sympathetic to other factors that made it slightly more complicated for you than it would normally be. All of that time and kindness was apparent in your writing and speaking, and we are so grateful for that.

It was very important to us that the day was perfect for E, and it is largely thanks to you that it was. From the tribute it felt like you knew her. I know E would have liked you a lot and I’m sorry that you never got to meet. She would say that it was fate which saw you officiate for her yesterday, and she would be right – as she always was about such things. Thank you for helping to make E’s day so special.” - Emma P

“The service was just perfect for S. Thank you, you really helped me.”