I lost contact with my brother some years back and have just found out he died on 7th October.
I am looking to hold a funeral for him but am not in the position to afford it by myself and do not believe my brother had any money as he was disabled and on benefits.
For a basic cremation, the doctors fees, for looking after the body and a Hurst suitable for a coffin the total cost will be around £2947
I want to now tell you a little about my brother that I remember as there is a big age gap between us him being 49 and me 34.
Nick was a happy guy who would do anything for anyone. He was diagnosed as a child as being "slow" was the term they used back then.
He as a young man met a girl and started to settle down with her. She fell pregnant with their child. After she had the baby they separated and Nick found out she was putting their daughter up for adoption.
Nick loved his daughter and wanted to keep her so he fought in court for 2 years for custody but this was denied because of his diagnosis. Now days support would have been put in place but that is neither here nor there.
Once he realized he had lost his daughter Nick began to seclude himself from the family and gradually let himself go. He gained a lot of weight and did not take any real pride in himself.
Some years went by and he had a major heart attack. He was told at that point if he did not start to look after himself he would not live for very long.
I suppose Nick just never got over loosing his child and so this advice never registered as a warning to him.