Undertakers design fishing-themed funeral to surprise family of local fisherman

By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS

A keen fisherman who died from cancer got a stunning send-off after local undertakers surprised his family with an incredible angling-themed graveside tribute.

Les Gibbins, 69, often joked with John and Mark Punton - third-generation owners of J Punton & Son Funeral Directors - that they should one day take a fishing trip together.

So, when he sadly passed away in January this year, the pair decided to honor him with a burial display featuring two rods, chairs, and a pond.

Les's widow, Denise Gibbins, 67, said she was completely “knocked back” when she came to the funeral site to find the mocked-up angling scene.

But the housewife, from Snaith, East Riding, was full of praise for the local firm, who she said had allowed mourners to have a “giggle” and remember her husband fondly.

She said: “They were absolutely fantastic, they’re a lovely family. They did this fishing theme for the grave without me knowing!

“All the relatives and friends of Les, everyone who came up to the graveside, they were just knocked back by what they saw when they got there.”

“It was just unbelievable, and we were all having a giggle and a laugh, knowing that Les would be there, looking and thinking: “‘Crikey is that all for me?’”

Mark, 48, who helped organize the tribute with his father at Snaith Cemetery, said it was the send-off Les would have wanted.

He said: “Though we never went fishing with him, we were quite open to giving him what he loved.

"It was a little bit of a risk, to be honest, because you sort of start it and think: ‘Are they going to like this, and should we be doing this?’"

“But I think we just trust our intuition – and the fact that we know these people well enough – that the families would appreciate those extra little touches.”

He added: “There was a bit of tongue in cheek there as we put the heron on the side, and that would obviously steal the fish."

Denise said that Les was a devoted angler and would often fit in trips to the local lakes around his work as a labourer.

She said: “His fishing was his life, he made friends all over. No matter where he was, he never treated anybody any different.

“He had a choice of river fishing and pond fishing, and he’d go to the river when it got colder. If he didn’t find work, he’d take himself off fishing.”

Les was abandoned at Nottingham Train Station with his twin brother soon after he was born, and they were later brought up in an orphanage.

Denise had first met him when she went to stay with relatives in East Riding, Yorkshire, 46 years ago, and they had been together ever since.

Denise said: “When my dad died, I went to stay with some relatives for a week, and that’s where I met Les.

“He walked me to the bus stop, and we got on, and then felt something behind me, and it was him.

“He said: ‘I’m going to have a ride through with you, see what Snaith is all about.’ That was 46 years ago, and he never went back.”

Les sadly developed liver cancer in March last year and could only be treated with chemotherapy tablets at home.

And when he passed away on January 27 this year, Denise had turned to local funeral directors J Punton & Son to organise his burial.

She said: “I got J Punton and Son, because they’ve been in our village for a very, very long time, and all the traditional people who come from this area always dealt with them.”

Mark said his company, which has been around for 70 years, was used to creating bespoke funeral services for loved ones in the local area.

He said: “Many of the larger firms are focussed on big business, and it’s the conveyer belt of life – rushed in, rushed out.

“We know a lot of the people we’re dealing with, so we tailor a lot of that end-of-life service to those we knew and loved and just give something back.

“For a window cleaner, we’ve dropped a ladder into the grave with a bucket on a hook at the top, or if it’s a farmer, we’ll lay out straw on the bed of the grave.

He added: “Just little touches that people will remember and will make that day something about them.”