Anguillians at home, as well as persons abroad, seeking to have the burial or cremation of their loved ones in a dignified manner, now have an additional choice of mortuaries with the establishment and opening of a third funeral home in Anguilla.
The brand new facility, which bears the name Moran’s Alternative Affordable Funeral and Cremation Services, with the slogan Dignity Delivered, opened for business on Friday evening, September 6. It is owned by Mr. Moran Rey, a long experienced and well-respected Anguillian Mortician and Funeral Director, and is located just off the Wallace Rey Drive at George Hill. A large crowd, indicative of the high esteem in which the popular owner is held, was in attendance.
The opening ceremony was conducted by Methodist Minister, Rev. Lindsay Richardson, Moran’s brother-in-law, who remarked: “Everything that is here, that you see and witness, is ‘good’… That is what it is, and what we are celebrating – and we give God thanks. A warm welcome to everyone as we celebrate this moment of having done good.” He added: “I acknowledge the presence of family, friends, well-wishers, specially invited guests, all the dignitaries, and we pray that as we fellowship together, for the next few minutes, it will be a blessing.”
In the crowded space, Moran, overcome by the overwhelming support, applause, and show of camaraderie he received – wept openly but later regained his composure.
The opening prayer and exhortation were delivered by Anglican Priest, Rev. Raliville Christian. He went on: “May the peace of God, The Father, be upon Moran’s Funeral and Cremation Services. May His grace and His love daily attend to all those who will interact with this business. May His goodness remain with them, and we pray Almighty God that you will remind us that whatever is done for you will last. And so we ask, dear God, that all your goodness… and blessing will be upon this establishment, the owners and the co-workers. We give you thanks.”
The blessing of the new funeral home was performed by Methodist Minister, Rev. Joseph Lloyd, through prayer. The programme was punctuated by a number of songs and musical renditions one being Back on my feet again – symbolic of the event. This was followed by the cutting of the ribbons – at the two entrance doors – by family members.
Moran’s eldest sister, Ms. Monique Rey, gave an emotional and short address about him and the establishment of his funeral home. She managed to say, among other things:
“It is a great accomplishment for Moran to have his own funeral home. It is not because I am his sister, but he does an extremely awesome job. I thank you for being here to support him and I wish that you will continue to support him throughout this journey. I will now introduce to you Mr. Moran Rey, Director of Moran’s Funeral Home, and the rest of his team [including his three surrogate sons and a number of young women behind the scenes]”.
In calling for the official opening of the doors of the funeral home -performed by Moran and his sister, Mrs. Charmaine Richardson – Rev. Lindsay said: “By the powers vested in me, as the husband of Moran’s sister, I take great pleasure in declaring this place open for business.”
The large gathering took a considerable amount of time touring the building to view its chapel and other facilities. The crowd later made its way to the food and refreshment area for a climaxing sumptuous dinner.
