People of Hastings & St Leonards
Al Gannon
This week Kathryn Sutter went to Silverhill to meet Al Gannon, Director of Alan Gannon and Sons Funeral Directors, which he runs with the help of his family.
As I walked into the funeral home, I was met with a comfy living room style area where I immediately felt at ease. A Funeral Director may not sound like an obvious career so I asked Al how he got into the profession.
“My dad had been a Funeral Director from when I was four years old so I grew up with the funeral business around me. I started life in Glasgow but when I was eight my dad saw an advert for a Funeral Director post in Hastings in the industry magazine. He got the job and moved us 500 miles to start a new life by the sea. It wasn’t obvious for me to follow in his footsteps and I have done various jobs. However, five years ago I decided to take the plunge and launch my own business. People say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree!”
Funerals are usually a difficult thing to think about, but Al’s approach is compassionate and personal, and he has built a good reputation in the local community. “I am one of the first people that a family will talk to after the death of their loved one, so I am key in helping them navigate the rocky path that follows. A major part of my role is being a listening ear and allowing families to talk about their worries and grief. Many funeral services have become more corporate over the years focusing on targets and reporting to stakeholders. My ethos is very much to be a community resource rather than a big business.”
The independent nature of Al’s business means that his funerals do not have to meet the demands of investors or shareholders and can therefore cost less than the average. “When you’re bereaved, I think the last thing you want to do is think about all the options for a funeral and the extra costs associated with these options. I therefore try to include most things in my funeral costs. It is not all the expensive extras that make a funeral, it is the people that are there and the memories that are shared. It’s good to know that I have helped families to the best of my ability at a difficult time.”
We went on to discuss Al’s thoughts on the town. “A thing I love about Hastings and St Leonards is the number of independent businesses, shops, etc. As the world gets more corporate, interacting with small traders who you can get to know is even more important. Hastings needs to play to this strength and encourage development that fits this ethos, rather than trying to be like other local towns or building large shopping facilities, etc.”
I finished our chat by asking if Al had a myth he wanted to bust regarding the funeral business . “I hope that people will realise how compassionate and professional the funeral business is, with dignity and respect being central to the work. People often have certain worries about a funeral. For example, many people ask me if their loved one will be cremated with others or individually. I reassure them that everyone is cremated individually with respect and care.”
And as for plans for the future, Al continued: “I’d like to be able to continue to make the business a success moving forward. My sons are currently six and nine; I have optimistically added ‘Sons’ to the business name already! Hopefully, they will continue the business one day!”
• To find out more about Al and his services visit gannonandsons.co.uk
Read more in the series:
Simone Gosling, Manager of Bear’s House Nursery
Irina Lazareva, the force behind Sunshine Cafe
Kate Rosie, owner of Teddy Tinker’s
Millie Rowland, CEO of Boathouse Arts and founder of ‘Millie’s Nightclub’
Father David Hill, Rector of St John’s Church, Pevensey Road
Mike and Sue Shaw of Shaws Hair Stylists
Liz Coleman, member of the Hastings and Rother Interfaith
Gemma Cooksley and Kate Thwaites, Bluebell Ridge RSPCA Cat Rehoming Centre
Martin Symons, Community Volunteering Coordinator, St Michael’s Hospice
Rick Sciuriaga, owner of Number 46
Personal trainer, Naomi McMaster
Tony Jane and Harley Millward, Table Flip
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Al is amazing and very compassionate. Nothing is too much trouble and he is always there to talk through any worries you may have and explains them in a friendly and easy to understand way making the whole process as stress free and easy as it possibly could be.