PEOPLE
A third generation funeral directors at the heart of the local community
Jack Punton was born in Snaith where he grew up to be a Methodist preacher, local business man and Mayor. He and his wife had six children of their own, some born in their first house in Carlton and the rest in Snaith, adopting and caring for many others.
Jack was very active in community life and well loved by all that met him. Goole Amateur Dramatics and Operatic Society was very close to his heart, to which his second wife Anne is still a patron. Jack loved to walk and raised thousands of pounds for a number of charities.
Jack died in 1999, leaving a well respected family business with his son John and grandsons Mark, Nigel & Matthew.A book tracing Jack's life and local life through the 20th century has been written by his second wife Anne and published internationally. It is available at Snaith, or on Amazon.
John was born in Carlton, near Goole and went to school at Goole Grammar School where he played for both Cricket and Rugby teams. He trained to be a teacher at St. John's College in York and moved to Chesterfield to teach Geography. In 1979 he, his wife Jean and his family returned to Snaith to help his dad, Jack with the Funeral Service and Hardware Store
While in Chesterfield John played for Chesterfield RUFC and represented Derbyshire on a number of occasions. On his return to the area, he played briefly for Goole RUFC.
John still plays cricket locally and runs both businesses with Mark & Michelle. John's two other sons, Nigel and Matthew, independently run hardware and houseware stores in Sheffield and York.
Mark was born in Chesterfield and moved back into the area in 1979. He went to Snaith Secondary and then to University in London gaining an honours degree in Geography. He worked in a number of ecological conservation organisations including BTCV and The Trust for Urban Ecology. He returned to the area with his wife Emie and step daughter Tess in 2005.
Mark plays and helps manage cricket for Pollington CC and has been involved in a number of local projects including The Link magazine, Snaith Gateway and others, including a trustee for Snaith & Cowick Relief in Need charity.. He now works full-time for the company, mainly involved in the Funeral side of the business.
We couldn't operate without our staff who look after our clients either on, or before the day of the funeral.
Andy, still a working Fireman with the Leeds Fire Brigade has been with us longest, 6 years now. Steve a former Transport Manager at Howdens, whose dad worked for Jack in the shop and on funerals when he started out. Keith, now retired, but training to be a Church of England vicar and Kevin, retired from Drax Power Station, heavily involved in Drax Cricket Club, a Hedgehog rescuer and bee keeper.