Costa Blanca Celebrant Services
Janette Galbraith
My name is Janette Galbraith, I'm English and I have lived in Spain since 1987. I love Spain and my life here and I also speak Spanish. The first thing people ask me is how I became a funeral celebrant, they think that it must be a very sad and emotional job to do so let me try and explain.
My own father passed away in 2017 and I really wanted to make sure he had the sort of funeral that he would be proud of. An event that I would remember for the rest of my life and also other family members and friends would remember and talk about for a long time. I never wanted him to be forgotten.
People actually thought I was mad to conduct the funeral myself. I had never done a funeral for anyone before but I was determined to give him the "Celebration of Life" which he deserved. The funeral was beautiful and I managed to capture and share lots of facts about him and his life. People were surprised about what they learnt about my dad because there were achievements and stories which he had never discussed with others apart from close family.
I found it so important that his friends and family heard about all of the wonderful things in his life including some very funny stories. It was lovely to hear laughter and see smiles on people's faces. My dad would have loved that about his ceremony.
I was then asked by a friend if I could help to arrange the celebration of life for her wonderful husband who sadly lost his very brave battle against cancer. I agreed to help and little did I know that from this day I would begin a career that I loved and which became extremely important to me. This is how it all began.
In my role as a funeral celebrant it is very important for me to give somebody the send off which they would be proud of and that their family members would also approve of totally. It is paramount for me to help ease the suffering a little, as much as I possibly can, in what can be a terribly painful experience for the family members of the deceased. My aim is to help them remember that person with a smile on their face and to remember the beautiful, or even funny, memories they might have. Remembering the good times and noticing the footprint which their loved one left in this world and in people's hearts. I believe this is very important.
I really am dedicated to making such a difficult time in life become a little more bearable for everyone. People are always surprised how it could be possible for me to be so passionate about my job. I love it and I love to create, along with the family, a lasting memory that people will talk about and remember forever. Your loved one's final farewell.
A week after Janette seamlessly conducted our mother’s beautiful Celebration of Life ceremony in Javea Crematorium, we really felt, as a family, compelled to write a review for Janette.
My family and I really are so grateful to Janette for helping and guiding us at such a difficult time for any family.
The day before the ceremony, Janette took the time to meet with our family. She was extremely professional, friendly, appropriately compassionate, open, and most importantly listened to us all. She at no point rushed us timewise and took the time and interest to listen to our stories and looked at our photos of our mother. We all felt she really understood our mother’s personality and what we as a family wanted to achieve on the day.
On the day of the ceremony, Janette was a fantastic support to all of our family and friends and she ensured everything ran smoothly. Everyone thought that our mother would have wholeheartedly approved and everyone left upbeat with a smile on their face, which is exactly what my mother would have wanted as did the family. Thank you so much Janette. We couldn’t recommend you highly enough.
Gill and Jensen Nixon.