Jane Morrell and Simon Smith
Jane and Simon founded Green Fuse in 1999 with a vision to align funerals with changing social trends and attitudes towards death in their local community. They continue to run their funeral directing business, Heart & Soul Funerals. Green Fuse has been described by Robert Lodge of Lodge Brothers as “the leaders in contemporary funerals”. In 2006 they wrote the acclaimed book We Need To Talk About The Funeral – 101 Practical Ways To Commemorate and Celebrate A Life.
In 2007 Jane and Simon began training funeral celebrants and directors and have now trained over 500 people across the UK and abroad. Simon wrote and facilitated training programmes in leadership and management between 1997 for Parcelforce, the NHS and others.
They both hold Psychotherapeutic Counselling Diploma. Jane trained in ceremony and ritual with Welfare State International. Simon holds the Foundation Degree In Funeral Services from Bath University and is an accredited member of and professional membership of the Society of Bereavement Practitioners.
Jane and Simon were jointly awarded Funeral Directors of the year
Basira Ward
Basira (aka Angela Ward) is a full course trainer on the Funeral Celebrant Diploma and is a Course Development Director. Basira is an experienced funeral celebrant who trained with Green Fuse in 2008.
Pete Joscelyne
Actor, Pete Joscelyne adds the presentation skill and presence elements to the Funeral Celebrant Diploma training.
Stephen Nimmo
Stephen holds the Degree in Funeral Services from Bath University.
He trains on our Modern Funeral Director, Starting Your Own Funeral Business and Managing the Funeral Process courses.
He has worked in the funeral industry since 1997 and in 2000 joined a family firm undertaking in the region of 1500 funerals per year and was personally responsible for around 250 per year with responsibilities for staffing and fleet.
In 2002 Steve joined the Kenyon Emergency Services team, and was involved in emergency and mass fatality responses in the UK and abroad. In 2003 he became involved in overseeing the ceremonial repatriation of British War Dead to the UK from Iraq and Afghanistan. He received the Ministry Of Defence Medal For Repatriation in 2008.
In 2010 Steve created Chester Pearce Associates Limited, to provide a range of bereavement services including specialist funeral directing and training.
Angie McLachlan
MA (Distinction) in Religion: The Rhetoric and Rituals of Death,
BA (Hons) in Death Loss and Palliative Care
Angie runs our Care and Management of The Body course.
Having worked with and around death for the last 24 years, Angie holds an informed and unique perspective on mortality, death and caring for the dead. She has undertaken most of the practical tasks relating to funerals, including as a premises inspector for a Funeral Trade Organisation. She is a member of the British Institute of Embalmers, the European Association of Embalmers and is a member of Dying Matters Coalition. Angie started her PhD in September 2012 and received an ‘Academic Excellence Award’. Angie is also an ordained priest in The Liberal Catholic Church International. Angie now concentrates on practical tutoring with her Death Dummy Ichabod Smith. She was pleased that her unique work has been recognised, as in 2015, she was honoured to be among the 5 finalists in the Good Funeral Award category: ‘Major Contribution to the Understanding of Death.’