About Me
Hello - I am David Knowles. I grew up in Kirklevington and have lived in and around Yarm all my life. I wanted to be a Funeral Director from the age of 14. There has always been something in my heart telling me that this was my purpose. For 25 years I worked for the UK's largest corporate Funeral Service from being a Funeral Service Operative, Funeral Director, Manager and Regional Operations Manager. My more recent roles saw me travel the length and breadth of the country which gained me a huge amount of senior leadership and Funeral Directing experience from a country wide perspective and various traditions and cultures that go with that experience.
My passion and drive to support families and our communities through the hardest times of their lives is very important to me. We are based at Mandale Park in Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe which is just near the Great North Air Ambulance Headquarters. Although we are based in Eaglescliffe, we will care for the Funeral of your loved one no matter where you live. I believe Mandale Park is a perfect location as it is very quiet with plenty of space to park and it's very easy to get to, families who have already been to my Funeral Home have all commented how peaceful the area is.
I designed the interior of the Funeral Home myself and also helped to build the interior so I know it will be a peaceful and stress free place for people's loved one's to rest.
I wanted to have a mantra that best described me as a person and also wanted it to work with my name, so when telling a former colleague about my plans and my idea of having this mantra she immediately said "Dignity and Kindness", I got a instant feeling in my stomach that this was just perfect. Throughout my life the main word that has been used to describe me by others is "Kind" so it just felt perfect. In addition to this, my immense passion to ensure the care of a Deceased person is always dignified and respectful, my mantra was born. It actually makes me more proud that it was the idea of someone I used to work very closely with and not my own.
Caring for the bereaved and ensuring their loved one has the funeral they want has been my passion for over 25 years. Often people say, "I couldn't do your job" or "I couldn't work around death all the time", but in reality, Funeral Directors spend a lot more time with the living than we do with the Deceased. You must be a people person and someone that deeply cares for others if you want to be a respected and trusted Funeral Director, and throughout the last 25 years, I have been entrusted to care for thousands of families which is always a very powerful thing to think about. Families trust me with their most precious loved one and I only get one chance to ensure their Funeral is perfect. The responsibility that is associated with this is huge. The tiny details are vitally important to people and my keen eye for detail ensures that I can spot those small opportunities to ensure the family feel as reassured as possible.
The little things don't mean a lot, they mean everything.
We can arrange any type of Funeral, from a simple Funeral to a more traditional Funeral. We can also arrange a Direct Cremation, some people may refer to this service as a Pure Cremation. In relation to Direct Cremations, many people do not realise that your local independent Funeral Director can also arrange these. We appreciate that some people prefer a Direct Cremation. If this is the case, we will personally care for your loved one from the moment you contact us to the day of the Cremation. We will not transfer your loved one to a Funeral Hub and Crematoria across the country, we will use Crematoria local to you, your loved one will rest locally in our Funeral Home and I would be your point of contact throughout proceedings, I will not instruct a third-party as many of the national Direct Cremation companies do.
The main drive is my passion for helping people and my natural ability to be supporting and kind. Families and clients will deal with me when they ring at any time of the day or night. You will speak to me, no call centres to go through, no recorded messages asking you to choose options by pressing the numbers on your keypad, you put your trust in me and you get me, 24/7.
To learn about the services we offer that can make your loved one's Funeral much more meaningful, call us anytime on 01642 929090. You can also email us at support@davidknowlesfuneralservice.co.uk or enquire via our Facebook page. You can also call in anytime for a chat and a cuppa and have a look around. I can answer any of those questions no one wants to ask or bust those myths that are so prevalent when people discuss Funerals.
I'm here for you... anytime.
You can trust me to handle every detail with Dignity and Kindness.