Technology brings mourners together at retired Leeds pharmacist's funeral

As previously reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Bruce Hammond died after he and his wife Angela contracted Covid-19 after returning home from a Caribbean cruise.

The 89-year-old, who was a father and grandfather, was admitted to hospital but died on April 6.

He ran pharmacies on Victoria Road and Otley Road in Guiseley and was a member of the Rotary Club of Aireborough and a former club president.

In Leeds, only funeral directors and ministers or celebrants are allowed to enter crematorium buildings - although up to 10 people can attend outside.

For Mr Hammond's funeral, with Guiseley's Full Circle Funerals, mourners were able to meet virtually via the video communications site Zoom.

Bruce’s daughter, Jo Hammond, said: “Organising a funeral is always a difficult time but the fact we didn’t know what to expect under the current restrictions made it particularly daunting. However, as a family we decided to fully embrace what we could do, rather than thinking about what we couldn’t do."

She said as the hearse left the family home for Rawdon Crematorium, family and neighbours lined the street and then around 60 people logged into Zoom to watch the service live, including one of his grandchildren from Germany.

She said: “The service went better that we could have expected, and it was lovely to see who was there, rather than sitting at the front of a crematorium with our backs to everyone, which is what usually happens. Not looking at the coffin also made it less morbid and gave us a detachment to what was happening in the crematorium, meaning the service focussed more on his life than his death.

“I also think my dad would have liked it. He was always into technology and computerised his business at a very early stage, when everyone else still used pen and paper, so he would have loved been one of the first to have a Zoom funeral.

"It would have also resonated with his irreverent sense of humour, especially because my daughter dressed smartly from the waist up, but then had her unicorn pyjama bottoms on – he’d have found that hilarious!”

Full Circle Funerals’ founder, Sarah Jones said: “Celebrants can still lead ceremonies, or people can even do this themselves, and technology means it’s possible to share the event online and include as many friends and family in it, regardless of where they are in the world.

“We’re now helping to organise online ceremonies, using video conferencing software, which has been very successful. Friends and family can also provide messages, drawings, flowers from their garden, or even personal items to go on or in the coffin, which can all play a profound and significant part in the grieving process.

"It also helps people deal with the fact that they are not able to carry the coffin for the person who has died, which many people have struggled with."

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