Funeral director follows in father’s footsteps

A Birmingham funeral director is maintaining a family tradition after qualifying at the same firm his father served for more than 35 years.

Adrian Cant, aged 33, has completed the final steps to qualify in the senior role at Northfield-headquartered Mortons Funeral Directors – and took charge of his first funeral as a director earlier this month. His dad, Andrew, retired as a funeral director from Mortons earlier this year.

Adrian joined the firm on work experience when he was just 16 years old, and was offered a full-time role with the company the following year. He began his working life as a funeral operative, went on to complete his driving qualifications and rose through the ranks over the years. On the way he became a qualified embalmer and member of the British Institute of Embalmers and worked as a funeral arranger before moving into his current role.

Mortons, which has offices in Birmingham’s Northfield, Rubery and Cotteridge, is celebrating its 120th year this year.

The firm’s managing director, Derek Case, said: “It’s highly unusual, in my experience, to have a father and son both work as a funeral director at the same company. Between them, they have more than 50 years’ experience, which means Adrian is steeped in the Mortons way of doing things, by which I mean offering the highest standards and treating everyone with dignity and respect.

“Adrian’s father lived and breathed Mortons’ values all his working life, and I’m pleased to say it’s very much a case of ‘like father, like son.’ We are incredibly proud of what Adrian has achieved. He goes above and beyond for our clients and is constantly striving to exceed expectations in the service we provide.”

Adrian added: “My dad always instilled in me a sense of loyalty and duty when it comes to my working life, and it’s been a privilege for me to learn from him and from the team at Mortons in order that, ultimately, we can offer a truly personal service to our clients.”