West Suffolk Crematorium’s new site manager is a familiar face
The new site manager of West Suffolk Cemetery and Crematorium is a familiar face, having previously worked there for eight years.
In 2009, Claire Butcher was made redundant from her customer care role with a national house building company and, in September 2010, started work as an Administrator at West Suffolk Crematorium.
West Suffolk Cemetery and Crematorium, which opened in 1989, is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest owner and operator of crematoria and cemeteries, with 35 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.
On her employment journey at West Suffolk, Claire was promoted to Senior Administrator and then, in 2015, Assistant Manager.
She was lured away from West Suffolk after being offered the chance to manage the then-brand-new Cam Valley Crematorium, also part of Westerleigh Group, in 2018.
She said: “I loved my time at West Suffolk but was delighted to be offered the chance to build up the reputation and community links at a brand-new crematorium.
“In August 2021, I was asked if I would return to West Suffolk as its manager, following the retirement of my predecessor. When I first worked there, it only had one chapel and a much smaller team.
“Now it has two chapels, a beautiful, purpose-built, hospitality suite with the Meadow Café, two wake rooms, a traditional lawn cemetery and a woodland burial, with 13 acres of mature grounds. I was delighted to be given the chance to return to where my journey with Westerleigh Group started.
“At West Suffolk Crematorium, we enjoy strong links with our community and over the years we have supported many different charities and organisations, such as dads running the London Marathon, St Nicholas Hospice, Cruse, Sands, several cancer charities, and many others, including the Salvation Army, who play at our Christmas service each year.
“I am looking forward to working with the West Suffolk team once again to carry on offering the people of Suffolk and surrounding counties exceptional care in a beautiful setting so that families can remember, mourn and celebrate the lives of their loved ones in a way that’s uniquely personal.”