Mansfield funeral company helps give flying great-granddad Dan the perfect send-off

Dan Taylor died from coronavirus aged 87 but at the time, funeral restrictions meant that only ten people could attend the service.

So his family worked with Co-op Funeralcare to create a memorable send-off that would honour the former RAF pilot’s love of flying.

They selected a coffin that was decorated with pictures of Spitfires and placed an aviator jacket and a pair of flying goggles on top of the coffin.

The father of four, grandfather of six, and great grandfather to two had an adventurous life including becoming a movie star in 1955 after his RAF squadron featured as extras in epic war film, The Dam Busters.

Anne Edgar, Dan’s daughter, said: “The funeral was our first chance to get a sense of closure, so it was really important to us that despite everything happening around us, the service would feel special and ensure it was a fitting tribute to dad’s amazing life.”

Rebecca Edgar, Dan’s granddaughter-in-law, is a funeral arranger at Co-op Funeralcare in Mansfield and was able to work with her family to achieve a personalised and fitting service.

She said: “Working on the funeral of someone you know and love dearly is especially difficult, but being able to support people when they’ve had a loss is one of the most rewarding things about the job.”

After the service, the family held a wake for Dan on the Houseparty social networking app so family and friends could celebrate his life.