Rachel Jee - Independent Funeral Celebrant

07/11/2025

04/10/2025

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. A big bag of bramleys from the garden of a gentleman I conducted the service for, last week. The most beautiful smelling, juiciest apples and there were enough to make these two lovely crumbles, ready for the oven 🍁🍏🥧🤤

01/09/2025

My friend is a Joy Division fan and she doesn’t live in Manchester, so, whilst I was at Macclesfield Crematorium today, I thought I’d seek out Ian Curtis’s final resting place so I could send her some photos. It made me sad, it was so unloved. Yet in other ways, it was loved by those who didn’t know him and had never met him. There’s all sorts of trinkets that have been left, including a 7” Bucks Fizz vinyl! A T-shirt and a pack of Chinese ci******es. People left these things for their own reasons. So terribly sad that one adored by so many, and so many like him, didn’t want to carry on their life 😔❤️

27/08/2025

I don’t know if he really said this but it sounds good anyway…..

Jim Carrey once said: Grief is not just an emotion—it’s an unraveling, a space where something once lived but is now gone. It carves through you, leaving a hollow ache where love once resided.

In the beginning, it feels unbearable, like a wound that will never close. But over time, the raw edges begin to mend. The pain softens, but the imprint remains—a quiet reminder of what once was. The truth is, you never truly "move on." You move with it. The love you had does not disappear; it transforms. It lingers in the echoes of laughter, in the warmth of old memories, in the silent moments where you still reach for what is no longer there. And that’s okay.

Grief is not a burden to be hidden. It is not a weakness to be ashamed of. It is the deepest proof that love existed, that something beautiful once touched your life. So let yourself feel it. Let yourself mourn. Let yourself remember.

There is no timeline, no “right” way to grieve. Some days will be heavy, and some will feel lighter. Some moments will bring unexpected waves of sadness, while others will fill you with gratitude for the love you were lucky enough to experience.

Honor your grief, for it is sacred. It is a testament to the depth of your heart. And in time, through the pain, you will find healing—not because you have forgotten, but because you have learned how to carry both love and loss together

14/08/2025

Facebook has reminded me today that it’s the anniversary of the first day of my funeral career journey. I’d temped since the January at Co-op head office which confirmed to me, the path I wanted to follow. Today, in 2013 was my first day working in a funeral home where I completed my NVQ. From a funeral arranger for 3 years, I moved to head office again, not through choice, I went to work on a project but I didn’t return to my branch, choosing to stay there for a while. I left the co-op in 2018 when I moved into funeral pre planning which led to redundancy which brought me here…..here to my happy place 🥰

11/08/2025

I had the privilege of conducting a service in this beautiful church last week, I’m just sorry I didn’t take my phone in with me to photograph the inside…..hopefully I’ll have another opportunity. They just want the church to be used so they allow celebrants in😆. Lovely people look after it too 😊
It just goes to show that there are different options out there, one size doesn’t fit all

08/08/2025

The last 6 weeks or so have been truly humbling. On several occasions, I’ve either been asked by friends to carry out their loved ones services or I’ve had calls from people who have seen me take a service and they’ve chosen me to conduct the service of their own loved one. But to be asked to give the service of one of my own family members is something else, although he did always joke “you can do mine” and I thought I’d be retired by the time that day came and he probably did too, but I wasn’t. I know he’d comment on this post, but sadly he can’t. I hope he’d have approved just like I hope all of the people I help to say goodbye to, would have too.

25/07/2025

I’m not sure how to put this week into words but I’m glad it’s over. I’ve sat with the families of and stood in front of hundreds, and I truly mean, hundreds of people to talk about 5 people in my own age group, people who should still be here who have left young families behind. It’s extremely humbling, and such a privilege, but it shouldn’t be happening.

This poem was used today in my final service;

The Friend
In a circle of friends, the one who dies first
Is the friend you will never forget;
This is the death that unhinges you
From the trappings of every day life
And makes you – suddenly – absurdly grateful
For each new breath – beginning with this one.

This is the death that could break you apart
In every way possible; that persuades you-
In memory of that friend – to turn away
From whatever refuses to speak to your heart
From whatever threatens to numb your soul
From whatever it is that revels in death.

Yet this, too, is the friend you need by your side.
Listen. Together they urge you: live your life.