(Please note I am mindful that my medium / long term memory (like everyone else) may contain incorrect information, therefore some or all of the below may not have happened at all.)
It’s been a few days since I went to a previous colleague’s funeral. We weren’t very close, though for around a year we jointly supported a set of services at work and would cover for each other if one of us happened to be away. His wife was also part of the wider team, but I never knew he had serious health problems until much later on.
What I found most striking about his professional character was that, despite being someone who was passionate and well paced about work, whenever an adversity came along, he might express how he felt about it, but without fail he would recover in a matter of literal minutes. I couldn’t help but on the day of the funeral, I wondered if his resilience had anything to do with his religious beliefs and the communities that he was part of.
There was a time when we spoke about our thoughts on how nurses were being trained in the 2020s, and he shared with me how he met his wife through training, and how different it was back in his day.
He was also the second person (not counting media personalities) to point out that the word funeral starts with the word fun, and it should be a celebration of life. He spoke about how he didn’t want attendees to wear black ties.
Summer / Autumn 2025 was the last time I saw him, at another colleague’s leaving party.
The morning had started with light rain when people arrived at the church, leaving behind an overcast as we made our way to the cemetery. Then, as his casket was being lowered into the ground, the sun managed to break through for a brief moment or two.
Regrettably, I haven’t attended many funerals and didn’t stay to share the few memories I have of him. So I leave them here instead.