Affinity Funeral Care

Affinity Funeral Care, we are a local Independent Undertakers established in 2011 as our family Funeral Directors after 18 years experience providing funeral directing for local companies in Leeds. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest times we have to go through in our lifetime, we pride ourselves on being here to help you. We are here to listen and give comfort during your time of grief as well offering the practical support and advice to reduce the stress of planning the funeral. We are able to provide any funeral requirements you choose from simple and elegant to elaborate and unique as we tailor our service to your needs to ensure that the funeral reflects the wishes of the person who has passed and to ease any worries of the family and friends who are saying goodbye to them. Although our home is in Wortley our services are available throughout Leeds, surrounding areas and we can assist Country wide if required. We also offer Pre-arrange and Pre-paid funeral services which are registered under the Funeral Planning Authority and in association with Royal London. We can be contacted 24 hours a day for when you need guidance or advice and we will be here to assist you long after the funeral has passed. Our sincere Condolence if you require our assistance, we are here to help, to listen and to care. Office/Home 26 Kellett Crescent, Wortley, Leeds, LS12 4AQ Local private Chapel of Rest with transport available for visiting. Following is a more in-depth explanation of why we care: Affinity Funeral Care, established and run by a husband and wife team who met through grief, is a funeral service that provides professional and affordable care. We are a caring, family-run funeral directors based in Wortley, Leeds, but we cover all surrounding districts, West Yorkshire or anywhere else we are asked to help. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things to have to deal with. At Affinity Funeral Care we pride ourselves on offering comfort during your time of grief, as well as practical support and advice, to reduce the stress of planning the funeral in the days ahead. We understand that each person is different and deals with bereavement in their own way, so that is why we take this into consideration when arranging the funeral, offering you the assistance you need - whenever you need it most. Firstly, please accept our condolences if you are in need of our assistance; as your funeral director of choice, we are always here to listen. You can contact us to ask about particular services we offer or to source things that you may have thought of and we haven't - we are always learning. We are only a phone call away or, if you fancy, you are welcome to call in for a coffee if you you just feel the need to talk: we are not trained councilors, but sometimes all you want is a caring, friendly ear. Having a funeral tailored to you and your loved one's needs is important, and we always endeavor to help you through the grieving process to the best of our ability. I have always found my funeral career rewarding, knowing that I am are helping families through the saddest of times. I met my wife Debbie whilst arranging the funeral of her stepfather, and the special bond I have developed with Debbie's family has given me a deeper understanding of the funeral director's role, enabling me to provide a more supportive and efficient service. Although there does not seem to be such a thing as a cheap funeral these days, we do like to consider our service as affordable as possible from our direct cremation service to cremation and burial funerals. All of our service is bespoke and tailored to your needs as opposed to offering set package funerals, where you may not desire the full content or have to pay extra for additions. It was chance that got me into the industry, and that was back in 1994. I feel that this profession has moulded and matured me, as I have worked my way from starting as a chauffeur and bearer for a large company in Beeston to now, where we have our own family funeral directors helping people the way that we feel helps the most. I did not enjoy working for a large company but I feel that most are run in the interests of big business as apposed to providing a caring service. So, when I secured an interview with a family firm, I saw it as a great opportunity. Although not great with interviews, I believe my passion for the care and service we offer won me the position with Olive Tate as my mentor, which came with the stipulation of being trained as an embalmer. I accepted the position and went on to pass the course, which was quite lengthy, but I felt very proud when I qualified with all that extra knowledge. I know 1994 does not seem that long ago to anyone my age or older, but Tates - as everyone knew the firm back then - were still able to make coffins in house so, along with my embalming skills, I managed to pick up a fair few joinery ones too. It seems to be getting forgotten that most funeral directors started out as joiners, firstly making the coffins and then taking on more and more of the duties over time. Unfortunately, after a few years, Ms Tate retired and sold the business to another family firm but, as they had purchased several retiring funeral firms over the years, it was heading toward the big business situation again. I stayed with the new owners for 11 years, firstly getting more in to the funeral arranging and directing affairs, which led to me managing two of their branches. Once I had started meeting families and helping them through their loss, I just found my career choice more and more rewarding. It's hard to explain how you could enjoy such a position, but knowing that you are helping at the hardest of times is a special privilege afforded to few. I have always said I have as many friends as former customers, but my career also comes with some very sad but life-changing personal experiences: Most poignant in my memory is an occasion where I went out to arrange a funeral for a lady who had lost her husband, and she was making the arrangements with the help of her daughter, Debbie. I guess that when fate decides something it does not matter what the situation is, as that was 15 years ago and the Debbie I met on that day is now my Debs - my wife. Rest assured that I do not make a habit of this, but not only have we both found happiness, it has also created a strong bond between her mother and myself, which has definitely given me a deeper understanding of the grieving process and an insight into how strong an effect the funeral directors role plays in the live of a family going through a loss. I have learnt a lot over the past 23 years, and I have provided services for friends, family and complete strangers; I have learnt that everyone is different, everyone is precious and loved and that every detail matters. I have always been concerned about the service that is provided and the prices that these services cost, hence me shying away from the larger companies in my past. This led to me turning 40 in 2011 and deciding that Debbie and I, as a team, could start providing the services how we wanted to in order to keep the prices down for other families. We started our family funeral directors Affinity not long afterwards and have never looked back. Debbie is getting more involved and learning as she goes although I doubt the embalming course will be added to her CV! Thank you for reading taking the time to read this as I just wanted to explain why we are passionate about what we do and what makes it so rewarding. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you require our services.