Katrina Wagstaff – Green Funeral Director

Katrina started life with a lot of travel and living abroad with her parents and sister in Europe, Canada, Algeria and Libya which impacted on her in different ways. It was a great opportunity to meet different people and to understand different perspectives and cultures as well as to enjoy different cuisines and music. However, Katrina felt a desperate need to put down roots so, after qualifying as a furniture designer and maker at the London College of Furniture and working in London for a couple years, she moved down to Cornwall in 1990. It was whilst doing a two-year day- release welding course at St Austell College that she met Terry on a teacher training course. Katrina taught the Design Technology ‘A’ Level course for five years before they started a family and married. Katrina and Terry were self-employed as artists but, to supplement their income, Katrina worked part-time as a medical secretary and a development officer for a credit union.

When Katrina’s father died suddenly in 2012 and they couldn’t find a non-traditional funeral director, they decided to arrange his funeral themselves. It was challenging but surprisingly fulfilling and identified a hole in the market. In 2014 Katrina and Terry started The Cornish Funeral Company – a green and alternative funeral company that covers the whole of Cornwall and sometimes beyond.

Katrina continues to work on creative projects and writing when time allows.

www.thecornishfuneralcompany.co.uk
info@thecornishfuneralcompany.co.uk

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Professionally – Having the nerve to start The Cornish Funeral Company - a new, green disruptor business in an area that was male-dominated, is naturally challenging, potentially off-putting and in which we had absolutely no experience.

Personally – I consider my greatest achievement to have brought up our two wonderful children under sometimes challenging health and financial circumstances and helping them to launch into the world as happy and confident adults.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

I love being a funeral director. Obviously, there are difficult times and it is 24/7, but I enjoy meeting people, being able to care for the deceased and to enable bereaved families and friends to say farewell to their loved ones through beautiful, authentic and individual ceremonies. We are also strongly committed to promoting green funerals and won the Green Funeral Director Award 2022 as well as a being Highly Commended at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards 2021.

3. What do you owe your mother?

I owe my mother my passion for food, cooking skills, healthy eating, love of gardening and an awareness and openness to alternative therapies and ideas.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

I am inspired by women who bravely stand up for and act upon their beliefs irrespective of the personal cost and consequences such as Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. Then there are the millions of ordinary women who are either working in tiring, challenging and sometimes monotonous jobs whilst caring and trying to do their best for their families under difficult circumstances or, conversely, having to give up work to care for an elderly parent, spouse or disabled child which often leaves them isolated and losing their identity.

5. What are you reading?

I don’t get much time to read so tend to listen to audiobooks whilst I cook and garden. I’m currently listening to Salmon Rushdie’s The Golden House – intriguing and challenging.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

The perception that women are equal. I was ten and my sister seven when we lived in Algeria and were unable to play outside as it was deemed inappropriate – we were stoned and chased several times. Five years later in Libya, I experienced serious sexual harassment which infuriated me although I understood the cultural sensitivities. Both experiences made me aware of the high levels of misogyny and male chauvinism in our own western society. Although I went on to train in male- dominated arenas, I held my ground. Ironically, the worst sexism and patronising that I have experienced in a workplace has been from “professionals” when some men, feeling threatened or challenged by a (small) woman expressing justified displeasure or anger, would become unpleasant and unreasonable. Traditionally funeral directors have been male but times are changing and many more women are entering the business which makes sense as so much of our work involves compassionate caring, support and good organisation.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

To have more women working together at the top as I think that women are generally better at collaborating and are less competitive.

To have free/less expensive, quality childcare so more women can return to work should they wish to.

Financial and social recognition of the many women who put their lives on hold to care for the elderly, sick and disabled.

8. Describe your perfect day?

I was lucky enough to have it on my birthday this September. We’re rarely all together but both our children took the day off work and the four of us went for a walk and picnic on Roughtor up on Bodmin Moor. It was a gorgeous sunny day with a strong wind to cool us. I remarked that it had been a prefect day and how blessed I felt. It makes me smile just to remember.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

I’d like to see a statue/statues that recognise the thousands of Bal Maidens who worked in the Cornish mining industry doing jobs that were hard, sometimes dangerous and often involved toxic materials.

10. Give us a tip?

Love yourself and be kind to yourself – as women we are hard on ourselves and have a tendency to run around trying to look after everyone and everything without taking sufficient care of ourselves.