When the news broke on Sept. 8 that Queen Elizabeth II had died, many people, both in England and abroad, began mourning.
As part of that mourning process, Lowndes Funeral Home and Crematory is giving the people in the area a chance to offer their condolences to the royal family by signing a register book for the queen.
“It’s just a little bit of what we can do to show our respect,” said Dawn Pounders, co-owner and pre-need counselor for the funeral home.
“People want to do something, but they don’t know what they can do. This makes them feel like they are a part of it and they can do their part.”
The book, which was announced via the business’s social media on the same day as her death, had garnered around 200 signatures by Friday.
“There have been quite a few (signatures),” she said. “We have had a really good response. We’ve had people from Alabama, from a distance, come and sign. Some drove over here just so they could sign.”
One such signer was Sidney Runnels, a funeral director who signed the book for himself and his wife, Mary Jane.
“I am 73 years old, and she’s been queen for 70 years,” he said. “So, basically all of my life, she has been queen. (I admired) the dignity that she had and the power that she had, for the whole world. When she would speak, people would listen. That’s how I feel about her.”
As a funeral director, he said he has learned that there is meaning in even the small things, and that was a big part of his decision to sign.
“I think it’s just a courtesy to her family,” he said. “Small things mean a lot to people. It doesn’t have to be a big expression. Just a simple phone call or a simple note, or signing the register book says a lot.”
This is not the first time that Lowndes Funeral Home has done this kind of thing though. According to Pounders, they have prepared and mailed registers after a few notable figures’ deaths and a few tragedies.
“We’ve done this before,” she said. “When George H.W. Bush died, we did it. When Ronald Regan died, we did it. After one of the mass shootings a long time ago, we did it for them.”
As was done with the other books, the funeral home plans to ship the book to the royal family at the end of the month.
“We have looked up the address, and we will package it up and mail it at the end of the month with a letter explaining who we are,” said Pounders.
The book will be available to sign through Sept. 30 in the funeral home’s lobby, and business hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
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