Charlotte's Funeral In Three Parts
Charlotte's Funeral, Burial And Sharing
Charlotte died very, very suddenly aged 40 to the great shock of all who knew her. Her funeral was in three parts. We hired a town hall which could be set up 'in the round' for her funeral. Charlotte had loved flowers and her friend Jeanette made a beautiful heart on the floor of the hall out of greenery and flowers. We had a slide show and we played some of her favourite music both recorded and live. She had enjoyed singing with a choir and amazingly given the emotion of the occasion they sang two of her favourite songs - one to start and one to finish. Her best friend Peter spoke about her and we had other readings and tributes by friends and those she'd worked with.
We took about an hour and a half for the funeral ceremony and then we drove as a convoy to a beautiful cemetery where we would lay her to rest. A cemetery in a stunning valley and surrounded by trees and close to the river - a very fitting resting place for someone with a great love of nature.
At the graveside we had a poem by her sister, some prayers and a friend spontaneously got his fiddle from his car and played a piece as we lowered her coffin.
Friends had come from far and wide and so Charlotte's husband wanted to offer them some refreshments. We drove on to a steading where he'd organised some friends to go on ahead and decorate the place again with greenery and flowers. We had five photo boards of Charlotte from when she was a little girl right up to just before she died. The friends also set up and served coffee and cake for everyone when they arrived. After a half hour we then sat down and had a 'sharing' similar to Sally's. We began with a prayer and then invited everyone who wanted to, to tell a story about Charlotte.
Our gathering ended with a buffet lunch.