If ever there was a family destined for a certain path in life, it would be Kathleen MacIntosh and her children.
As a little girl Kathleen’s undertaker dad brought the company hearse home from work, piquing her interest in all things funereal.
Later, she married a funeral director herself, taking her toddler with her to the mortuary.
Now, surrounded by her children and grandchildren at Berriedale Funerals, she says she wouldn’t change a thing.
“What could be better? I work with my family helping people at the worst possible time in their lives. It might seem like an odd profession to some, but for us, it’s what we’ve all been used to. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
‘My toddler always wanted to have a look,’ said Kathleen
Kathleen’s connections to undertaking extend back further than even the most prestigious cortege.
Her father worked for Campbell and Sellar’s and her ex-husband Ronnie Scott started his career at the original William Gilchrist’s in Bon Accord Street.
When Ronnie left to join another firm, Kathleen saw an opportunity to get involved.
Beginning as a receptionist, then tentatively stepping into the role of funeral arranger, the now 67-year-old was working “on-call” before she knew it.
With her son Graham and daughter Mandy at school, her youngest, Paul, would often accompany his mum to work.
“Paul’s been in the mortuary since he was two or three. He was always curious, wanting to open the fridge and look in,” she said.
The business opportunity Kathleen couldn’t say no to
After Kathleen’s marriage broke down, she later married Ian MacIntosh, of the family-run firm, MacIntosh and Steven Funerals, where she worked.
But it wasn’t a direct path to being part of Berriedale in Westhill, and now in Bridge of Don.
“Macintosh and Steven sold up and we took a break. Ian and I went to Gambia for a year. My husband has always been an entrepreneur, so we started a tourist coach business,” Kathleen explained.
Just a year later they heard of an opportunity too good to pass up.
The couple moved back, taking ownership of an old Aberdeen crematorium.
‘Seeing my gran laid led me on a path to embalming,’ said Paul
Kathleen launched Kaimhill Funeral Home with the help of Ian and stepson Keith. Her brother Graham Allan got involved and then son Paul Scott too joined the family business.
“I was still a teenager when I started working at Kaimhill with my mum,” Paul, 40, said. “For me, it was a natural progression. I grew up getting a lift to school in the hearse and watching coffins being made.”
Now a qualified embalmer and mortuary manager he believes it was having his gran rest at home following her death, that really got him interested.
“I was really wee, and have memories of always wanting to see her and look in on her. I’ve never had a fear of being around the dead.”
But were his school friends so understanding of playground drop-offs in a coffin-carrying car?
“Well, back then wrestling was a huge deal and so I would dress like The Undertaker, in my dad’s long coat, for fancy dress days. It was more cool than weird, at the time.
I remember getting swarmed once when my dad dropped me off. It’s funny, it would be frowned on now to be using a hearse like that,” the dad-of-two added.
‘It’s a privilege to help bring peace and comfort’
When Kathleen and Ian sold Kaimhill to take over a bar in Benidorm, Paul stayed on. And with that decision came the opportunity to learn the art of embalming.
“To be honest that was always the thing I was most interested in. I started off preparing the deceased, so I jumped at the chance to study to become a qualified embalmer.
“Next year I will have been a fully-qualified embalmer for 20 years. I think the older I get – and the older the people around me get – it becomes less “unusual” and more a special thing I can do to help grieving families.
“When people watch their loved ones die it can be a far from pleasant or peaceful experience. Embalming brings people back to a natural restful state. It helps offer peace of mind, and comfort,” he added.
Now, wearing scrubs the same colour as the pink preserving chemicals used in his “theatre”, Paul says his own children also believe death is “nothing to be scared about.”
“My eldest worked with us before he left for the army and my daughter happily pops downstairs from my house above the funeral home, to speak to me while I’m working late.
“I wanted to bring them up the way I was.”
‘Berriedale us all together again,’ said Kathleen
After a stint in Spain Kathleen and Ian returned, opening Brechin Funeral Directors in Angus. Already a celebrant, she renewed her vigour for supporting families through the process of saying goodbye to their loved ones.
When Ian suffered a stroke which led to a brain injury, they had to give up their business.
“It was only when my in-laws opened up Berriedale in Westhill, in 2000, that the opportunity came up to step back into funeral arranging,” the gran-of-six said. “I was working at the neuro-psych rehab unit where Ian was receiving care when James and Janet asked if I would help out from time to time.”
She started occasional on-call shifts before being offered a full-time post.
Soon, Paul moved over to Berriedale too, and daughter Mandy, 46, offered her bookkeeping services.
‘I feel so lucky to have this job alongside my family’
Five years on, Berriedale is now owned by William Paterson and Stephen Westall, and mum-of-two Mandy is funeral directing.
“It wasn’t something I planned to do but I feel like we’ve all naturally moved towards it. I did my own thing for a while then started with the accounts. Over time I have trained to be a proper director.
“I have to admit it did take a wee bit of getting used to but I feel so lucky. It’s just brilliant. I get to work with my mum and Paul, and my son Aidan is now involved.
“It can be hard at times, especially if it’s a younger person resting with us, but I can’t think of another job where you’re this privileged. We’re trusted to look after people during their final days on earth. We all just do what we would want done for our own loved ones.”
‘We’re good at our job because we feel the pain of others’
Reflecting on decades in the funeral profession, Kathleen believes the family’s success comes down to one thing.
“It boils down to this…” she said. “We feel other people’s grief. Because of that, we do a good job. We go over and above and we get a great deal of satisfaction knowing how much that’s helped.
“Am I ready to retire? No, not for a while yet. I couldn’t.”
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