Family Funeral Director in the heart of the Chilterns, Widmer End

“I’m Philippa ‘Pip’ Howitt-Smith
Dip .F.D., B.I.F.D and I’ve been
in my beloved profession now for the past 37 years”

In July 1987, my late mum asked me what I wanted to do on leaving school and I replied, “I want to become a Funeral Director, mum” – to which she replied, “Really!” The next week, I arrived home from school to find my mum had arranged for me to visit a funeral director in our home town of Huddersfield. After my visit I knew this was the profession I wanted to enter, so in September 1987, I enrolled in a YTS scheme for a one year course.

During my training I was taught how to arrange and conduct funerals, along with all the procedures to running an office. I gained a full-time position in a funeral directors and in 1991 aged 21 I passed my Diploma in Funeral Directing. I was one of the youngest, qualified funeral directors in the UK at that time.

In 1996 I qualified as an embalmer whilst working in a busy funeral directors, who dealt with over 1,000 funerals a year. In 2000 I become an area manager for the Co-operative Funeral Services in the areas of Clacton on Sea and Oxford.

In 2008 I became a freelance embalmer visiting various funeral directors in the South of England. When Covid-19 hit in 2020, I reverted back to becoming a funeral director working for an online company. As my experience and knowledge of our profession was excellent the funeral directors that provided our care facilities offered me a position as a general manager at their Aylesbury branch in November 2021. I had great pleasure in working with a well-established third generation family owned and run funeral directors.

In 2024 I decided to establish my own family owned and run funeral directors and ‘Widmer End and District Funeral Directors’ was established. My aim, is to provide a professional and caring service, which I done all my life, and to help guide families through the funeral process with dignity and compassion.

White Icon

Unattended - Direct Cremation £1,200.00

White Icon

Attended Basic Funeral £2,350.00

White Icon

Bespoke Funeral from £1,925.00 + your choice of coffin

Funeral Vehicles
Widmer End & District Funeral Directors Logo
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.