The funeral firm which films the final journey of loved ones as a precious memory for pandemic-affected families

East Durham-based Delanoy Funeral Services, which was recently launched by John Delanoy and Julie Stout, has introduced filming of funerals.

And it has proved to be timely after the Covid-19 restrictions meant that fewer family members could attend services.

John, from Easington, and Julie, from Peterlee, were both already in business and had worked together before they decided to team up to launch their own firm.

Julie said one of the things the firm was keen to introduce was filming of the funerals and she described it as ‘a way of capturing the deceased’s final journey as a beautiful and respectful keep sake for the families.

“At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic led to the national lockdown, and suddenly people were unable to give their lives ones the send-off they wanted.

“Churches were closed and the deceased were either taken straight to the crematorium or graveside with very few mourners allowed.”

John and Julie’s first collaboration was to film the funeral of a local woman whose family lived in Canada.

The family could not travel to the UK because of the restrictions which were in place through the coronavirus.

This was followed by a video of Peterlee taxi driver Ian Ridley, on behalf of Chevron Taxis by Just Out Marketing, which captured his final journey and the 100 taxi drivers who had lined the streets to say their goodbyes. The video reached 60,000 people.

Delanoy Funeral Services is based at their newly opened premises on Oakerside Park in Peterlee.

John added: “Funerals are always tough but that doesn’t mean they can’t have some personality, a celebration of the deceased’s life as much as an emotional last goodbye.”

John has been in the funeral business since he was 16 and was the fifth generation of Delanoys to work for the family business which was first launched in 1897.

Julie had worked in marketing for almost 25 years and was running her own successful company called Just Out Marketing, which she had launched in 2010. Through various projects she had delivered with funeral companies, Julie had ideas which she thought could make a real difference to the experience families have as they prepare to lay their loved ones to rest.

Lorraine Boxx from Trimdon Village asked Delanoy Funeral Services to organise her husband Stephen’s funeral, when he passed away aged 53.

She said: “John and Julie came recommended to me by a few people. Unfortunately, I could not attend my husband’s cremation as I was bed bound. Not only did they ensure he had a fantastic send-off but they also filmed everything for me and created beautiful footage for me to keep.

“Julie came to my home that same night with the footage to ensure I could see his funeral that day which meant so much to me. I cannot thank them enough for what they did, making it possible for me see my husband’s service.”

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