Lifting the veil on final farewell
THERE is a peaceful silence to the place. There are not loud noises of a worksite or persistent tapping of keys.
Ipswich
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THERE is a peaceful silence to the place.
There are not loud noises of a worksite or persistent tapping of keys.
In only one room is any music playing. The never-ending soft instrumental hymn plays in the chapel of the Reed and Bottcher funeral home in central Ipswich.
Location manager Paul Whear, a former chef in the RAAF, has been working in the industry for five years. He readily admits the job can be hard at times. But he loves it.
Reed and Bottcher conducted 174 funerals in 2011, around three every week.
"It's a personally fulfilling job," he said.
"It's not an easy job, but it gives you a sense of personal satisfaction to help a family on their day of need."
On the upper level of the Roderick St building a rectangular room is lined with solid wood coffins and two elaborately decorated LifeArt cardboard ones.
A single rectangular casket is placed on the wall in front of the entrance. Once the most popular means of internment they have been overtaken by the six-sided coffins.
The environmentally friendly cardboard coffins are a relatively new addition to funeral homes across Australia.
Made from recycled fibres they also hold the additional benefit of decoration.
One on show in the display room proudly bears the Australian flag.
"The LifeArt coffins can be decorated with whatever you want. NRL teams are pretty popular, as are flowers and of course the plain ones," he said.
Mr Whear said while in most places cremation, which Reed and Bottcher doesn't perform, was overtaking burial as the most common style of internment, burials remained popular in Ipswich.
"In places like Ipswich burial is still very popular," he said.
"It's the older places, like Ipswich where traditional burials instead of cremation are more common."
The role has also given Mr Whear an intriguing insight into some of the most sacred traditions of Ipswich's changing population.
While European funerals remain the most common, he has gone through a number of Aboriginal, Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies.
"Buddhist funerals can last for days," he said.
"They can have numerous viewings in the lead-up to the final ceremony.
"You've got to make sure what you're doing is appropriate for that culture. What you think is right from an Australian funeral could offend someone else.
"It's amazing though. Seeing how different cultures celebrate the lives of their loved ones? It's amazing."
Mr Whear admits the job has taken a toll on him at times.
He says he's never had to go to counselling from the job but "came pretty close."
While he deals with death every week two cases hit close to home for Mr Whear - a woman he'd come to know when she came in a number of times to plan her funeral, and a young flood victim.
"It can be a tough job," he said.
"You've got to have empathy. You have to work with the family. They only get one chance to say goodbye."
The mortuary of Reed and Bottcher is half operating theatre, half hairdressing salon.
Stainless steel medical equipment is mixed with hair dryers and shampoos, all essential for the preparation of the deceased before a funeral.
Reed and Bottcher mortician Nancy Notman said she prepares a body to a certain condition regardless of whether a family is planning to have an open casket or not.
"There are times when plans change and the family wants an open casket. We don't want to be in a position where we haven't prepared the body for that," she said.
The deceased are stored in a cold room in the mortuary, kept between one and four degrees.
With the funeral home having to wait for the cause of death or a report from the coroner before acting, Mr Whear said the company has held bodies for up to six months in the past.
Reed and Bottcher will be holding an open day on Sunday from 11am - 3pm.
Mr Whear said the day will allow visitors to ask questions about funerals, and see first-hand what happens once a funeral service concludes.
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Originally published as Lifting the veil on final farewell
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