About Having The Last Word

Having the Last Word was formed one year after the death of Richard’s dad and mum. Richard has taken time throughout his life asking questions and listening to the stories that subsequently shared. As a boy he worked in the village shop, and despite his bosses initial consternation at his ways, chatting to older souls in the village would become a bedrock of his shop life and then his life’s work, helping people in business and through life.

Throughout, whether sitting beside people in hospital, in care homes, or in their front rooms, the stories have provided so many crucial beautiful lessons. This is what has led to him writing such stories down and reflecting them back – helping reflective people to become the true teachers – for when we are ready to listen.

He also learned that families break under the weight of not knowing what their loved one would have wanted. A eulogy guessed at is a small violence. A funeral improvised is a quiet tragedy.

So he built this business: to replace guessing with listening. To replace eulogies with voices.

At the moment Richard is the principal driver of the organisation, but this won’t be long. The Join Us page below is an invitation to a growing band of others who share his vision.