Ann Hawkins ‘the funeral lady’

Franklin & Hawkins Family Funeral Director

My name is Ann Hawkins, affectionately known in networking circles as the Funeral Lady.

We have 2 offices covering both Coventry (Tile Hill Lane) and Marston Green so we can easily cover Coventry, Warwickshire, and Birmingham, Solihull and surrounded areas.

The company was started 18 years ago by the Franklin and Hawkins families: Gary Franklin and Andy Hawkins. I joined in 2019 when Andy and I married. Of course, shortly after this the Covid situation hit the UK and we all found ourselves in unchartered territory.

It seemed that every week the guidance was changing. Heartbreaking stories of people passing away in hospital or care homes with family not being permitted to be there. Funerals where the rules were that only limited numbers could attend but then the rules also said people could not travel out of area.

Hence Franklin and Hawkins very often carried out funerals where there were no mourners. This struck a chord with me and so I attended countless funerals (following guidelines at the time) as my heart hurt to think that nobody could attend. That was my personal introduction into the funeral industry.

In the same period Andy needed me to assist him in out of hours service: I will admit that I was nervous but from my very first out of hours call to a care home to bring a family’s Mum/grandma into our care I realised just what an utter privilege it is for families to choose us. Since that very first call for me, I have assisted Andy in care homes, assisted living homes, private homes, hospitals, and other situations.

My husband Andy is from a military background and specialises in military funerals.

A few things I have learnt since meeting Andy: life is incredibly short and tough. A funeral is important for families left behind. A funeral director is for life: not just a funeral.

We honour every single family who choose us. But even if you have a chosen another funeral director then we can still assist with your funeral plans.

My classic line is if you passed today, who would be making your funeral plans tomorrow?

Ann Hawkins

Family Funeral Director

024 76 47 3000

franlinfunerals.co.uk