'Funeral home work isn't as miserable as you think'

Susan Whymark set up her own funeral directors with her mother 21 years ago

A funeral director who started her business from scratch said the career was "not as miserable" as people might think.

Susan Whymark first opened her funeral home in Eye, Suffolk, in 2004 alongside her mother.

When she was 19, she was inspired into the career by another female funeral director who helped organise her grandmother's funeral.

Ms Whymark said the career could be "rewarding" and she hoped to hire more pallbearers to to her team.

"I went to arrange [my grandmother's] funeral with my mother and my grandfather, and just something clicked," Ms Whymark explained.

"It was something I wanted to do. I don't know why. I guess it was like a lightbulb moment."

Ms Whymark worked as a funeral director elsewhere before she set up Susan Whymark Funeral Service.

She is one of the country's few female directors to have set up her business from scratch without it having been handed down through family generations.

Her mother had previously worked as a palliative care nurse prior to this, which Ms Whymark said had meant she understood death and how to help people through it.

Ms Whymark said her role was ensuring she helped families through their grief and honoured their loved ones' wishes

"I really do enjoy my job, which probably sounds odd because of what I do, but it's so rewarding," she continued.

"You just want to help people; you want to make people feel better in that situation.

"You don't want to see people upset and sad. You know they are and you can't change that, but what you can do is help them through the process as easily as you can and make them feel better.

"That's all we can do."

Ms Whymark said being a pallbearer could offer a rewarding career

Ms Whymark is looking for part-time pallbearers to join her team and said the role could suit anyone who enjoyed teamwork while having an important role in helping families through their grief.

"They have to understand that one size doesn't fit all. You have to be calm, quiet, speak when spoken to, really," she said.

"You are there for them; you're at a service for them. It's whatever you need to be around that particular person or family."