Harold P. Heywood Funeral Service

After the sudden loss of my father we could not have asked for anything more from Michael or any of team. From our first interaction when Michael made a special trip to the office to talk to us and even though he was on his way to a funeral he listened to us patiently, helped us start thinking about what kind of goodbye was right for us and my dad, and followed up on some special requests when hadn't yet committed to using his services!All of the team are very personable, pay great attention to detail (for example even getting dad a birthday card whilst he was staying with them!), and nothing at all was too much effort. Every detail before and after was thought of and executed perfectly!Hopefully I don't have the need to use the services of Michael and his amazing team in the near future, but when I do I will not hesitate to return!

I just wanted to say thank you for providing my mum, Patricia Jack, with such a beautiful send off.From first meeting Michael, he provided us with so much comfort and put us at ease. From the big decisions to the finer details, you went above and beyond and I will be forever grateful for your help, guidance and professionalism during such a difficult time for us. Your patience and empathy was outstanding.Also, thank you so much Michael for getting my mums hair braided; (she wanted it braiding for her birthday as she had never had it done, but she passed away two days before), you gave her her wish, and an extra special thank you to the lady who did it. Also, thank you for giving her a birthday card whilst she was staying with you, it really meant a lot to usWhen we came to see my mum in the Chapel of Rest, (which we did three days running, thank you), she really did look at peace and out of pain; she just looked like she was sleeping, fantastic workI would also like to thank you for the tribute page you set up for my mum, it has a link to make donations to Dr kershaws Hospice in her memory, candles which you can light for her, and you can also add thoughts too. Also Michael thanks for uploading all my mums photos onto it from the slide show which you set up for the ceremony. And the order of service was beautiful.Also, on the day of the funeral, thank you for the respect which you showed to my mum: bowing your head and taking your hat off to her, walking in front of the hearse both out of the street and when we got to the Crematorium, all very traditional which she would have liked.Please pass on my thanks and best wishes to everyone involved with looking after mum. We couldn’t have asked for her to have been placed in safer hands than yourselves, everybody we met was lovely.I'm sure there are a lot of details which I have missed out, but there are just too many to remember, but I just wanted to personally thank you for such an amazing job and a perfect service.Thank youDonna x

I can only extol and praise the services of this funeral director. When we lost our dad it was the first time my sister and I had had to arrange a funeral. Michael guided us through the process with warmth, compassion and professionalism from day one. From our first contact with him, he assured us that being a family firm, dad would be treated as a member of his own family. This meant so much to us at a very difficult time. In our first appointment, Michael took the time to explain everything to us, and guided us through all the choices related to the funeral with kindness and care. We did not feel rushed or pressurised to make decisions straight away. When we went to see Dad in the chapel of rest, Michael and his team had looked after Dad beautifully. The chapel itself had a feeling of calm and peace and we were treated with total respect and privacy whilst we said our goodbyes to Dad. The day itself was absolutely perfect, everything we had requested was carried out to a T. Michael had even arranged an accessible car for Mum who is a wheelchair user and organised the seating in the chapel to accommodate Mum’s chair. He also took the time to ask Mum if everything was ok for her. Every member of staff, from the hearse driver to the office staff was professional and kind. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone who has lost a beloved member of their family and I would use them again in the future. Perhaps the best recommendation I can give is that I have instructed my grown up children to use them for me when my time comes. Thank you so much to all the team.Christine, Denise and family. (Daughters and family of the late Denis Chapman) xxx

I can not put into words how amazing MIcheal and Lesley have been. From the start to finish it was perfect! Went above and beyond- being there day or night at the end of the phone I would recommend this to anyone going through a funeral Michael made a difficult sad time that little bit easier if that makes sense. The whole family are now doing our funeral plan with him. Michael you are an angel. From Lynn and family

What can we say, from start to finish Michael went the extra mile to provide an excellent service. Whilst being professional and approachable, as are the rest of his team, Michael was extremely caring and ensured that we were comfortable and understanding of every step of the process. He undoubtedly, made a hard day a little bit easier for everyone, taking control of every element. We could not recommend Michael and his team highly enough.

From the first telephone conversation to book Dad's funeral, Michael and his team were fabulous.We met a few days later, everything was done at our pace.Dad was a character and Michael got the jist of this straight away. There were so many things we didn't even think about, from having deep engraved images and letterings on the casket, to donation pages in Dad's memory that we didn't know we could do.As we sat discussing what we wanted, we didn't even consider the price, but we were very pleasantly surprised that everything was included, from the celebrant to the family car, the photo in a frame for the crem, the facebook page for memories, donation page etc.The only thing we paid extra for, were the order of service and the engraving on the casket, and we were very pleasantly surprised on the price of these too.We wanted a celebrant that was personable and would treat Dad's funeral as a celebration of a life well lived with some very funny moments thrown in. Michael knew straight away that John Beever would be the right man for us.We had a few weird requests, which Michael embraced being involved in and we felt like he really got how Dad was as a person.He set up a whatsapp group, between him, my sister and I, and sonetimes we would message very late at night whilst we remembered, thinking he would reply in working hours, but he is never off duty.Michael was on pre-booked annual leave on the day of Dad's funeral, so he put us in the very capable hands of his Dad, Darren. It was clear that Darren had been fully informed of all the little quirks, he was wonderful.We had a motorbike escort from the house to the crem and Darren discussed with the riders the best way to lead and go in between the cars, with Dad's best friend leading them all.There were a few things we were unsure of, if it was wise for people to see Dad in the chapel of rest etc, and we went with Michael's judgement.You only have one chance to get a funeral right, to celebrate your hero in the way they deserve.We have never used Harold P Heywoods before, just because it's not in a location we would have thought to look, but Dad had named it on his funeral policy, he clearly knew what he was doing.I would never go anywhere else now, if I am unfortunate enough to lose someone else.We honestly felt like we were treated like family. Everything was made so easy for us.

Michael was brilliant from start to finish, helping us all through a situation we didn't have a great deal of experience with. He made sure all of our wishes were accommodated for, no questions asked. We felt cared for throughout and I have no doubt that my dad was treated with the utmost respect and dignity whilst under Michael's care. On the day everything went according to plan and Michael kept checking in with us, he even noticed my mum was feeling overwhelmed at one point and he stepped in to move the well wishers on to give her a little time.

Planning and arranging the funeral of a loved one is never easy and Michael was a huge comfort from start to finish. As a family we can not really put into words how brilliant Michael and his team were. His attention to detail was outstanding and the kindness and compassion he showed to our family made saying goodbye to a much loved grandad a little easier. We would highly recommend Michael and his team to all . . . Thank you!

Michael provided an excellent service for our late mother Ita. From the initial meeting Michael was professional, caring & compassionate. He ensured that at a very difficult time everything was tailored towards our needs and that our mum was at the heart of proceedings. Michael with his knowledge and personal touch made things a little easier for us, even suggesting things that we wouldn’t have thought about. Michael even wore a city badge while accompanying Ita to the crematorium.The drivers were also very respectful and kind on what was a very sad journey. Throughout the whole proceedings Michael was in touch and available to us at anytime. We can’t overstate how much we appreciated the level of care shown to us but most of all the level of respect shown to our mum Colette Cooper & family.