A funeral director who worked her way up after joining us as a receptionist has given her professional certificate pride of place at our Stapleford office after she attended her graduation ceremony.
Danni Allen, who shares her time between the Derby Road office and our funeral office in Nottingham Road, Selston, was officially presented with her National Association of Funeral Directors Diploma in Funeral Directing at the event in May.
It brought to an end a long journey of studying for Danni, whose arrival made her the youngest-ever funeral arranger to work at Gillotts and coincided with us opening the Selston office back in 2016.
At the time she performed the roles of funeral arranger and receptionist, but she set her sights on conducting the send-offs herself by becoming a qualified funeral director.
Eight years later, she has officially achieved her dream and can’t believe how far she has come – and how quickly the time has passed.
She said: “To think it’s been eight years and I never thought that I would get to this point means that everything feels very strange at the moment.
“I used to observe the funeral directors doing their job, but I never thought I could do it too. They had so much responsibility and they had to make sure that everything was right on the day.
“Because I lacked confidence at the time, everything looked so daunting.”
But this is precisely what Danni does for a living. Her first contact with our families is to meet them in our office, talk to them about their loved one and what arrangements they would make and then make sure everything is put in place.
Then, on the day of the funeral, she is in charge, there to ensure our limousines and hearses arrive on time, carry out their duties properly and make sure that everything runs smoothly.
She said: “I was told that if you don’t worry about a funeral then you shouldn’t be a funeral director. It’s your responsibility to make sure that everything goes as planned on the day and take action it if doesn’t.
“You might have to deal with things like traffic jams or road works, or people at the crematorium who are not going to the right service and who need pointing in the right direction.
“The side of the job I like the most is working with the families. It’s not just about organising a funeral, it’s part of their grieving process. I see them looking for me on the day and I know that if they see me, then they know everything is being taken care of.
“There’s definitely pressure in this job. You can’t go back and change anything about a funeral, you only get one chance to get it right.”
Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts Funeral Directors, said: “It’s incredible to see how Danni has progressed through the years she has been with us and I was extremely proud to attend her graduation ceremony.
“She now shares her time between Selston and Stapleford and serves our families at both offices with the utmost professionalism and care.”