Ash Brook Funeral Directors

Funeral Director(s)

Terina Dance DipFD, M.B.I.F.D. Ash Brook is her company, and she is intricately involved with all the funerals carried out by the two branches. She is supported by  a small but strong team of colleagues, all of whom she has trained so that they have the same high standards as she does.

Terina conducts most of the funerals, with the remainder conducted by Operations Director David Wooden, who joined Ash Brook in 2018 from a previous career managing eight branches for a large corporate company. Other invaluable team members are Sarah Bishenden and Carly Johnston, the funeral arrangers, and Ian Pike, the funeral operative, with a small number of part time staff who are called in as needed.

All of the core team have been intensely trained by Terina in every aspect of funerals, from cleaning vehicles through to caring for people who have died, and they all take turns on the rota to collect people who have died at home, arriving impeccably dressed in uniform no matter what time of night.

Terina began her career working in her father’s funeral home in Wokingham. In the late 90’s, just before her father died, he sold his business to a large corporate company and Terina stayed on. She attained her Diploma in funeral directing, and continued working up until the day she went into labour with her first child  (her colleagues threatened to take her to the maternity unit in the back of the hearse).

Terina never went back to the corporate company; having decided to start a family, she also decided she wanted to continue the family business and ethos began by her late father, so she decided  to open her own funeral home, working by herself from her family home.

She sought permission from the council to renovate some outbuildings into a funeral home, and recalls that the whole council came to visit on a coach before permitting her to open. She called her funeral business Ash Brook, after the name of the road she lived on, and the brook running through the garden – idyllic surroundings which many families found immensely comforting.

Juggling a young family with running her funeral business, Terina picked up the contacts she had from working with her father and Ash Brook was an immediate success, despite being in a rural location and quite hard to get to – for non-drivers, Terina would pick people up to come and visit their loved one in the chapel. She covered every aspect of each funeral herself; that Diploma in funeral directing that she’d studied for, encouraged by her father because ‘you never know when you might need it’, was invaluable.

After some time, one of Terina’s good friends noticed a property in Tadley that she thought would be perfect for a high street presence for Ash Brook. The friend made an appointment for Terina to go and look at it, and in 2005 Ash Brook opened its doors in town, in premises ‘like a mini Tardis’, including all the facilities needed for a funeral home. The business thrived as families continued to choose Terina’s company; the reputation for the personal service they offered spread, and it became well established in the area. Having mortuary facilities as part of the premises was much welcomed by clients who were reassured that their loved one would be staying in Tadley.

Some 14 years later, an opportunity came up for a second branch in a village about 7 miles away, closer to Reading. Terina had always wanted to have a presence in Burghfield, and in 2019, the slightly differently named  Ash Brook The Funeral Directors opened. Shortly afterwards, the coronavirus pandemic hit, but despite the many challenges it brought, the Ash Brook branches continued to offer families their full service, without restrictions.

Terina has no plans to expand further, her two branches are busy, often looking after up to 30 families at a time between them, and Terina worries that her high standards and the level of service and personal attention would diminish if she and her team were extended further. No matter how many other funerals Ash Brook are supporting, it is essential to Terina and her colleagues that each family feels they are the only one that matters; maintaining this level of involvement and personal attention becomes impossible on a larger scale.

Specific Gravity

Terina’s purpose in life is “to offer the best possible service that we can in a traditional way.  To serve – and in equal measure – to ensure that the bereaved and the people who have died are looked after.”

This is at the heart of her life, in fact, Ash Brook is her life – she puts her work first, and family second. “They understand. At least, I think they understand!” she says. It’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t, the fulfilment and pride that Terina has in her work serving the community is palpable. She has no intention of retiring, or to slow down – she doesn’t switch off, rarely takes holidays and the  phone is always with her, with access to emails all the time. She’s on permanent 24-hour call, even on the occasional times she takes annual leave, the team can contact Terina, and she can speak to families if they need to talk to her. Asked about her work /life balance, her answer was ‘challenging!’

What’s Important?

Terina is a people person – her warmth and interest in everyone she meets is immediately evident,  and she has chosen her team for the same qualities. It’s a small team, but a happy and balanced one, who are friends as well as colleagues, and who are committed to their work in same way as Terina is. New team members always encouraged to ask questions, and told not to worry about making mistakes, systems are in place to catch any before they become a problem.

The fundamental starting point for every funeral is having really good conversations with clients. Terina believes that it’s essential to read the room and understand what each family needs, and she and her colleagues are skilled at this, starting with an offer of tea or coffee followed by a gentle conversation to begin exploring thoughts about the type of funeral the family want.

How this conversation evolves is led by the family, but always involves Terina or her colleagues sharing their knowledge with clients to make sure they know all their options and so that they can make the right decisions to achieve the funeral they want and need.

All clients are given a copy of the arrangements form to take away, to help them formulate their thoughts about what might be appropriate for them. It’s very common for clients to call with decisions made after the initial arrangements, and the answer is always ‘yes of course’. The role of the funeral director, in Terina’s eyes, is to ensure that each family is looked after and requests and arrangements are fulfilled, with the funeral running smoothly on the day, no matter how challenging a request may be.

Meticulous attention to detail, and a deep commitment to their work underpins everything done at Ash Brook, along with flexibility, and a determination to provide uniquely personal support to each family. The really good working relationships  that the Ash Brook team have with all others involved with a funeral helps build a safety net that ensures everything is anticipated and dealt with without fuss.

What’s Different?

Behind the impeccable presentation and traditional approach, Ash Brook is a progressive and modern funeral company. When Terina first opened her business, it was unusual for a woman to set up on her own, and the dedication and determination that she showed as a young mother starting with nothing apart from her knowledge remains very much at the heart of her company.

Times have changed significantly since Terina was working for her late father in the 1990s, but she has stayed abreast of market trends and keeps a keen eye on the landscape as regulation approaches (very much welcomed, in her eyes). Her company is a member of both trade associations, and follows their Codes of Practice, easily achieving the standards required.

There are few small, independent funeral businesses nearby, with most local funeral companies being either branches of large national companies or big  corporates operating in similar practices (central hubs where people who have died are taken to large mortuaries, with small, high-street branches without facilities). This means that the highly personal, flexible service offered by Ash Brook stands out, with both branches fully equipped to look after all the people  in their care at all times.

The respect and support that Ash Brook offers is particularly appreciated when it comes to families with additional challenges; where there is a bereaved person with special needs, for example, or where there are family disputes or financial difficulties.  Everyone who seeks their help receives the best possible care.

Families are welcome to personalise the chapels when visiting their person, and if visits are required outside usual working hours the team will always try to accommodate this.

Services

• Your first call will be answered by Terina, David, Carly or Sarah.
• Home visits: If you’d prefer to discuss funeral arrangements at home or elsewhere then they’ll happily come to meet you wherever you’d like.
• Family participation: Both branches are fully equipped with special facilities where families can be involved  with caring for the person who has died.
• Same sex person to wash and dress: yes, if you want to ensure this just ask.
• Embalming: while the aim of Ash Brook is always to enhance and preserve the dignity of people in their care, any decisions on embalming are always left to family choice.
• Ethnic or cultural specialism: Terina and her team can support families of all ethnicities and cultures as required.
• Types of funerals: the Ash Brook branches serve quite traditional rural areas, with a number of churches where burial space is still available, so they are experienced in carrying out burials. David has had experience of high-profile funerals and is used to working with people from all walks of life.
• Home arranged funerals: If needed, the staff at Ash Brook can support families caring for their dead themselves and have been honoured to have done so many times in the past.
• Celebrants: With significant experience gained over years of sitting in on funeral ceremonies, Terina has a good feel for the calibre and style of celebrants available locally. The company have around 15 celebrants who they know well, and the team use their skills to suggest the person they think will be the best fit for each client. Alternatively, the person assisting the family with the funeral arrangements may offer clients contact details of two or three potential celebrants so families can decide which they feel would be best.
• Unattended funerals: Ash Brook have always offered direct cremations as an option. If you choose Ash Brook to carry out a direct cremation, you will have the opportunity to spend time in the chapel of rest with the person who died if you want to, a service not available from online direct cremation providers. The cost of a direct cremation provided by Ash Brook is also less than that charged by online providers
• Website: Currently being updated to meet ongoing changes.
• Client support: From the moment of the first call to Ash Brook, you will feel warmly welcomed and supported. All of the team will be kept informed about the progress of each funeral arrangement, so whoever you speak to will be able to assist with any enquiries. On the day, the team will be to hand but unobtrusive, and after the funeral they will call the following day to check that all was well. They may make further calls as the days go by if you’d like them to.
• Money matters: Exceptionally good value for the quality of service offered. Prices here.

Remarks

Terina – and all her team at Ash Brook – exemplify the values and qualities most important in a funeral director – humility, extensive knowledge, impeccable standards, deep compassion and dedication.

We found this for ourselves, and we also heard it from professional colleagues who have worked alongside them supporting bereaved families. Here are just some of the words of praise for them:

“Terina and her team consistently demonstrate an exceptional level of empathy, kindness, compassion, and professionalism, qualities that we greatly admire and hold in the highest regard.” 

“I really cannot praise Ash Brook highly enough. Their respect and care for the family is second to none. I know they will ‘deliver’ on time and with great attention to detail.”

“We are proud to work alongside Terina and her team, knowing that families receive not only outstanding service but also genuine support during their most difficult moments. Her work embodies the values that make a meaningful difference in funeral care.”

“We have always been deeply impressed by their calm presence, thoughtful communication, and tireless commitment to meeting families’ needs during what is often the most difficult time in their lives. They approach each funeral with meticulous attention to detail and a genuine desire to honour the wishes of the deceased and their loved ones.”

“Terina and her people are some of the most kind and empathetic people you could ever meet. They will go to the ends of the earth to give people the care and ceremony that the family wish. Terina is known for looking after the whole family, not just the chief mourner, and she is a well-known and valued person in the community. She will only give of her best, and this is reflected in the staff who work for her – only the best.”

“Their work exemplifies the very best of what modern funeral care can be: human, honest, and deeply compassionate.”

We are delighted to include Ash Brook as a Good Funeral Guide Recommended funeral director.