Partner Article

Funeral firm marks 40th year with new fleet

One of Teesside’s best-known funeral services firms has marked its 40thanniversary with a significant investment to help take the business forward.

Family-owned Crake and Mallon, which is based in Norton Road in Stockton, has recently purchased a new fleet of cars to help it maintain the highest levels of professional service.

The company, which has become synonymous with its burgundy-coloured Daimler Jaguar cars, has kept faithful to the colour for its six new vehicles – diesel fuelled Jaguar XJs.

Senior Partner Alison Crake said the purchase of four limousines and two hearses costing almost £700k was the final part of a seven year plan that also included the development of new state-of-the-art mortuary facilities bringing the total reinvested in the company to almost £1m.

“My family has been providing funeral services for the people of Teesside and the surrounding area since November 1971. We are committed to continuing to serve and support the local community and providing the best levels of service for many years to come, which is why we are continually updating our facilities,” she said.

Alison’s late father Robert (known as Bob), originally from East Rainton in County Durham, began his career in the funeral profession in 1940 and moved to Stockton in 1956 as a Funeral Service Manager. Together with his wife Dorothy, he set up his own business in 1971 and was joined two years later by Joseph Mallon.

Apart from Joe, staff at the firm’s first premises in Stockton’s Skinner Street, comprised solely of family. His son, also Robert, joined the company in 1974 and Alison in 1979. She and Robert are still very much at the forefront of the business as partners, along with Dorothy, and their brother-in-law James Ross.

“We are still independent, still owned by the same family and still completely committed to remaining so,” insists Alison.

Crake & Mallon’s current premises – the site of a Wesleyan chapel but, in more recent times, a BMW garage - into which they moved 20 years ago, is now the base for 15 full time and six part-time staff.

“Our company really started to grow in 1980s, hence our need to move to larger premises and we have been adding to and modernising our facilities, services and staff training opportunities ever since,” added Alison.

“We’ve also had to adapt to reflect changing attitudes to how funerals are arranged. Things have moved towards a much more personalised approach in recent years, particularly since the funeral of Princess Diana,” recalls Alison.

Funeral planning, she adds, is the biggest noticeable difference to the funeral business in the last 40 years. The introduction of pre-payment plans has encouraged people to think and talk about their funeral, gradually eroding the taboo of talking about death and dying.

“This really helps to lift the burden of responsibility that a funeral can involve if it is left to the family to organise, as they are left wondering if they are doing things as the relative would have wanted,” continued Alison.

“People are much more open about things now than when my father started the business. We receive a much broader range of requests beyond simply arranging a funeral such as planning memorial services, woodland burials, sourcing specific music, printing orders of service and arranging special transport such as a horse-drawn hearse.

“We provide a service that people would rather not need but for the past 40 years we have been proud to offer highly professional support that is sensitive to the circumstances we are operating in and we are completely committed to continuing to do so.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by alison crake .