Meet The Team

When the funeral company that Jim was working for sold to the Co-Op the life of the whole family changed. When Chris suggested opening their own funeral business it was clear that they both needed to be involved which meant Chris giving up her job as a nurse and retraining. Financing a business which has huge and expensive infrastructure meant selling the family home, moving the entire family from Tunbridge Wells and a school move for their youngest child. It was an enormous gamble but one which they  both felt was worthwhile. 

The first few years were hard, reduced income and for Chris, a lot of learning whilst Jim’s building and carpentry skills were invaluable in making the business premises fit for purpose and the apartment into a comfortable and welcoming home. When Jim was diagnosed with a recurring cancer in 1990 Chris took over the entire operation to ensure that the business continued. Their eldest daughter Jo joined the company 27 years ago and has now taken over from Chris as Managing Director. 

Chris and Jim have both served as National President of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, Chris in 2006 and Jim in 2011. They are thrilled that Jo has been elected to serve as President next year in 2021.

Jim is a Freemason and member and President of the Angel Indoor Bowls Club, while Chris is an active member of Tonbridge Methodist Church, Rotary club of Tonbridge and a social member of the Angel bowls club. Chris also retains some contact with the profession as Principal of the Independent Funeral Directors College. She also heads up Abbey’s bereavement charity, Friends Together, which supports over 100, mainly elderly, people. 

Chris says that the traumatic and emotional aspects of the work were greatly lessened by having a spouse engaged in the same profession and who understood the challenges together with a strong faith and a good sense of humour. The latter is demonstrated in the attached photograph which was taken when  Jim’s new top hat arrived two sizes too big. It remains one of the couples favourite images of their working life together.

I joined the family business in 1993 having worked for a publishers in Tunbridge Wells since leaving college.  Although having grown up in the business and living above the office for most of my teens it wasn’t the job that I saw myself doing;  however it proved to be more than just a job and my long career at Abbey has allowed me the privilege of caring for so many families in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and neighbouring villages over the course of many years.   To be able to help a family at their darkest times and guide them through the fog of a bereavement is an extremely rewarding and humbling time.

After several years at Abbey, Mum saw the need for bereavement support for our families and with a little additional hard work and dedication she and I formed our wonderful bereavement group ‘Friends Together’ which helps many of our families in the weeks, months and sometimes years after the funeral.  From a small ‘soup and sandwich’ group in East Peckham, we now have an established charity that serves over 100 members of our community, for which I’m very proud.

As well as running Abbey I also run Kent & Sussex Memorials, a monumental masonry company that runs beside Abbey to take care of the memorial needs of our families helping them complete their journey.

Being an independent family business is something that I am very passionate about, I believe the independent can offer something more than the larger groups, we are not driven by account sheets and have no ‘sales targets’ to meet and are able to make decisions based on each and every family’s needs.  To this end, I have for many years sat as an elected member of the National Executive of our trade association SAIF (Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors) working hard for the many family funeral business’ around the UK and I am honoured to hold the position of National President 2022-2023, following in the footsteps of both my Mum and Dad, the first independent funeral business in the country to have 3 members of their family voted in as SAIF National President.

Working for my mum and dad was the best decision that I ever made.  They are now both retired and as Managing Director of Abbey I am blessed with a great team of staff who understand the ethos of our company and care for the families that we look after above and beyond on a daily basis maintaining the outstanding reputation of our little family business. 

Our family caring for your family.

I joined the team at Abbey Funeral Services in 2019 after working in accountancy for 20 years.  Having come from a larger company the opportunity to work for a small family run business was a very exciting prospect for me.

The care and consideration given by the team to each and every family is obvious from the moment you start working with them.  A highly professional company with exceptional standards, I was welcomed from the offset.

It is an absolute privilege to help and support the families that we look after when they need it most, it has been an extremely rewarding career change for me.

Out of the office, I am kept busy with my young family and support my husband in his love of playing Baseball.   Weekends are spent walking my dogs and relaxing with my extended family and friends.   

Joining Abbey Funeral Services in 2015 was a complete change to my previous rolls at a local hospital and a special needs school.

Each day is different and every funeral that I arrange for a family is carried out with care and precision. Some days can leave you feeling a little sad but being part of a supportive team soon boosts your spirits again.

Along with my role as Funeral Arranger, I also collate the many donations that are made on behalf of loved ones to local and national charities.

There are so many rewarding aspects of my job and being part of the team I am always made to feel like another member of the family here.

During my spare time, I particularly enjoy walking my Labrador Dog “Ruby”, visiting family and creating new culinary dishes for my family.

I joined Abbey in 2018  following a career within a corporate company for many years and following a sense of vocation in the funeral business that I held since my early years.

I was offered an opportunity to be part of the Abbey team and I feel like I’m part of the Abbey family working together to essentially put families first not profits, providing care, compassion thoughtfulness in fulfilling the bereaved wishes at such a difficult time and ensuring the funeral is conducted with reverence and dignity, something I personally don’t’ think you cannot put a price on.

In my free time, I enjoy Country pursuits, gardening and have close links to the local Church.

I have been in the funeral business since 2015 and have been working for Abbey since October 2018.  Working for a family business allows me to be part of a close-knit team supporting and gives me the opportunity to help bereaved families from their initial contact with Abbey right through to the day of the funeral service and beyond with the bereavement support that Abbey offers.  I have had the privilege of conducting funerals for the company since May 2019 and feel extremely fortunate to work with such dedicated and caring colleagues. 

Previously to joining the funeral business I worked as a print finisher for fifteen years in Tunbridge Wells,  then travelled abroad ending up in south-east Asia running a restaurant for six years.

Outside of work I enjoy swimming, playing golf and am a member of the local gym.