The Tall Pine: Paul Donne - Funeral Celebrant

26/06/2026

A wonderful message of thanks came through yesterday evening from a family I helped earlier this week 🩶

'Dear Paul,

We would like to express pur sincere thanks for the wonderful job you did in delivering A's Celebration of Life service.

We would also like to congratulate you on coping so well with the extremely hot conditions at Old Park Meadow yesterday. The circumstances were certainly challenging, but you handled them with great professionalism and compassion tthrought.

Your kindness, support, patience, and guidance have been greatly appreciated during what has been a very difficult time for us all. The service was a fitting tribute to A and we are truly grateful for the care and attention you gave to making it so special.

With our very best wishes,

K, R & L.'

20/03/2026

I've just received this wonderful e-mail of thanks in my inbox from a Funeral I led earlier this week...

'Dear Paul,

Thank you so very much for making the 18th a memorable day for us as a family and for our guests.

If P had been a guest at such a day, to remember someone he had known, he would have thought it a 'good team effort' and a 'good job completed'.

The professionalism and calmness of your approach at the Crematorium helped us cope with the challenges of the service which was mellow, calm and allowed the time and space for reflection.

Once again thank you.

Very best wishes,

S.'

24/01/2026

So true...I couldn't put the feeling of that one monumental loss into better words 🩷

I still look for you
in the deepest crevices
of my heart ..
And there you are,
Forever young,
Cocooned in my memories.
Your laughter echoing
like chimes.
Your smile radiating
like sunshine.
Your voice as calming
as a gentle hug.
Your heart full of hope.

I carry on
From day to day
But it's never too long,
Before I come looking
for you again.
Your physical absence
is a searing pain.
My arms are empty
But my heart is full.
Each crack filled with you .
You are a part of me
connected forever
by love
The love of a mother
to her son ...

🖋️C.E. Coombes
🎨Art sourced via Pinterest

Serendipity Corner 🪽

23/01/2026

Another lovely visit to Oak Hill Crematorium in Hatfield, which is part of this tranquil cemetery. An hour to go before my lunchtime Funeral fills this peaceful space.

I am truly grateful to lead some of my services at such beautiful venues. 💙🖤💙

14/01/2026

Some thoughts on this Wednesday afternoon for everyone navigating the loss of someone (or something) important to them.

Grieving a loss takes many forms, from the loss of treasured pets, to the loss something you enjoyed in the past - perhaps working relationships or special places that now also seem a distant memory.

Depending on our lifes' journey, these unique losses affect us in different ways, and there is validity in all that we feel.

There is also some shared commonality in everyone's journey through grief. But there should never be any rush, nor an expectation to simply 'get over it'.

Sometimes, all we need is simply the space to hold everything we can't yet find the words for, or just for the tears to flow.

12/01/2026

Just before leading a beautiful Funeral for a lady whose husband I looked after here 4 and a half years ago.

Patrick, the very tame Peacock, was quite happy to observe whilst sitting on the fence by the memorial garden, just round the back of the lovely Gathering Hall. 🌳🌲

24/12/2025

A friend shared this poem earlier today, and whilst I don't know who wrote it, it really resonated me.

It also guided my thoughts to all the wonderful families I have helped through saying a final farewell to their loved one(s) this year, and their first Christmas without them.

My thoughts are with all the families I've journeyed alongside over the last 8 years. There is no time limit to grief, no matter what people might say.

Go gently, and I wish you all a peaceful Christmas. 🎄💖

********

“When Christmas Finds You Anyway”

Some years,
Christmas doesn’t look the way you pictured.
The house is quieter,
the table feels smaller,
and life has written chapters
you never meant to read.

But somehow…
Christmas finds you anyway.

It slips in through the soft glow of the tree,
through the smell of something warm in the oven,
through a memory that catches you off guard
and makes your eyes fill with tears.

It finds you in the people who stayed,
in the strength you didn’t know you had,
in the way your heart keeps learning
how to break
and still stay open.

It finds you in the simple things—
a mug in your hands,
a blanket over your knees,
a song you haven’t heard in years
that somehow knows your whole story.

Because Christmas isn’t always loud
or glittery
or full.

Sometimes it’s gentle.
Sometimes it’s healing.
Sometimes it’s a light
that shows up right when you needed reminding
that you’re not walking this season alone.

So if this year looks different…
If you’re grieving,
or rebuilding,
or learning how to begin again—
I hope Christmas finds you anyway.

And I hope it brings peace
to the places that still hurt,
and warmth
to the places that feel cold.

22/12/2025

A lovely drive out to Hatfield in Hertfordshire, this morning to lead a service at beautiful Oak Hill Crematorium.

Once again, superb support from the lovely staff here as I looked after a family who I last helped 8 months ago. ❤️

01/12/2025

A lovely gentle service at GreenAcres Epping Park earlier this afternoon, for a.much-loved lady. 🍀 ☘️

May the road rise to meet you;
May the wind always be at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rain fall softly upon your fields;
And, until we meet again...
May Nature hold you in the palm of her hand.

07/11/2025

Yesterday afternoon at Forest Park, I led a beautiful Funeral for a wonderful gentleman of 90 who lived a long, successful life guided by that simple, timeless motto: 'Always treat others how you would wish to be treated yourself'.

Today, I received two separate e-mails of thanks from his lovely family:

'Hi Paul,

Thank you so much for everything that you did yesterday for me and my family. Your organisation and reading of the tributes was so professionally done. You are an exceptional person to be able to talk about our personal memories in such a caring way. You are providing a special service at a time when people are finding it hard to come to terms with their loss. Thank you again, John.'

'Evening Paul,

Just reflecting on yesterday, a massive big 'thank you'. Everyone mentioned how beautiful the service was and how wonderful you were. You will be highly recommended by us in the future. I wish you a lovely weekend Paul and thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our day so special. Love, Jan xx'

How lucky am I? 🥰