A Life That Matters by Ben Brophy | W. Uden & Sons Funeral Directors

A Life That Matters

Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant — even your gender & skin colour will be irrelevant.

So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

OverView

“A Life That Matters” is a profound and philosophical prose poem that serves as a powerful meditation on legacy. Rather than offering gentle, direct comfort, it provides a stoic and inspiring framework for celebrating a life of substance and character.

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may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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Then, someone at my side says, ‘There, she is gone’

Gone where? Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
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And that is dying…

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"A lot of care, empathy, understanding & support.
I was so impressed"

Watch a video testimonial from Kirsty, for whom we had the honour of conducting her mother’s funeral service.

Rated 5.0
based on 1653 reviews.

"We Decided to Use Udens and It was the best decision we ever made"

Watch a video testimonial from Juliet, for whom we had the honour of conducting her mother’s funeral service.

Rated 5.0
based on 1653 reviews.

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If someone has died, Our Family is here to help you.

Find your nearest office below or request a call back.

orpington

bromley

beckenham

west-wickham

dulwich

biggin-hill

petts-wood

camberwell

sidcup

bexleyheath

eltham

Karen W.

I cannot commend Udens highly enough. From the initial call after my Dad died with them explaining everything to planning the funeral and arranging everything to the day itself they were outstanding. They kept in touch and were sensitive throughout. The respect they showed on the day of the funeral was second to none. Thank you to the whole team

Vicky B.

Me & my family will be forever thankful that we chose Udens as the company to look after our mum. We couldn’t have asked for a better team to guide us through such a heartbreaking & difficult time. Your professionalism, kindness & genuine care made a real difference to us as a family and we will always remember that. Bina & Danny have been amazing from start to finish & Jack and team who looked after us on the day. Thank you again for the bottom of our hearts ❤️

Lynne P.

On losing my dear husband, my son and I visited Uden and Sons and met Adam. He explained everything we needed to know in a most calm and friendly manner. We were so impressed we decided then and there Udens would be our choiceA funeral isn’t just the day itself but the dark days leading up to it. During this time Udens were happy to deal with any questions and the calm respectful conversations reinforced the choice we had madeThe day itself was as we expected…calm, respectful and no hiccups at all.Udens must rate highly among Funeral Directors.

Panayiota K.

We had our mothers funeral at the camberwell branch of W Uden and Sons the best decision we made they are respectful,understanding and have the patience for you to decide exactly what you want they don't push for a quick decision and are there for you from Starr to finish and everything in-between answering all my calls without any problems or attitude I did make a good few calls but that wasn't a problem for them I will be eternal greatful for their hard work to make my mums funeral perfect in every wayThank you Bina , Jack Michael and the whole team at w.uden

Cleo O.

This experience was never going to be good, but Bina was so helpful and supportive. On the day everything went so smoothly and the team was so professional.

James T.

Excellent, efficient and polite...dealt with many aspects of my late mother's funeral.All questions answered, and was most accommodating towards me and family.Thankyou

My H.

We would like to offer our deepest gratitude and appreciation for the care of our late father by the Uden team at the Camberwell office. The team are exceptionally incredible; from the genuine kindness and care shown, the professional execution of a delicate process, the attention to detail, the utmost respect shown from all staff - we will forever be grateful for making Dad's funeral a dignified ceremony. Thank you all so much 🙏🏾

A D

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐I cannot recommend this funeral home highly enough. At an incredibly difficult and emotional time for our family, the care, compassion and professionalism we received were truly outstanding.From the very first conversation, we felt that we were in exceptionally capable and caring hands. Every detail was handled with sensitivity, dignity and genuine kindness. Nothing ever felt rushed or impersonal, and the team went above and beyond to make sure that everything was exactly as we wanted it to be.Their communication throughout was excellent, and they guided us through every step with patience and reassurance, taking an enormous amount of pressure away from us at a time when we really needed it.The funeral itself was beautifully and flawlessly handled. Every detail came together perfectly and, most importantly, our loved one was treated with the utmost dignity and respect throughout.We will always be incredibly grateful for the kindness and support shown to our family. It takes very special people to do this work with such compassion and humanity, and the service we received was exceptional from beginning to end.A heartfelt thank you from our entire family. We could not have asked for better care.

Abigail A.

Definitely a 5 star rating from planning to execution of arrangements. We felt supported and dealt with sensitively. Bina was our first contact and made such an impression on our entire family. Callum was also incredibly amazing on the day of the funeral giving attention to details . Overall an excellent team and first class service.

Abby M.

From our first contact to our last, Uden’s made an incredibly difficult and painful time feel so much easier and more manageable. Everyone was so professional throughout, while also being incredibly kind, compassionate and empathetic during such a difficult time in our lives.Everything ran so smoothly, which took away so much of the stress and worry for our family and allowed us to focus on saying goodbye.A special thank you to Bina, who was always so quick to respond to every question we had. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and her kindness and support meant so much to us.We’d also like to say a huge thank you to Stanley, who was with us on the day. He was so professional, reassuring and helpful, and he made sure the whole day ran as smoothly as possible.We honestly couldn’t have asked for a better service from start to finish. Thank you all so much for making such a heartbreaking time a little easier for us.

Junior F.

From July 11th, when my brother Stivette Fox passed, Uden & Sons Undertakes has been very dignified; understanding and, very professionally with their work regarding my late brother, Stivette.Sincere respect to W. Uden & Sons.From Junior W. Fox.

Faye C.

The words can’t express how grateful we are for the W.Uden team in Southampton way. They made my father in laws last journey so special, it was an incredibly difficult day but they really pulled it all together . We will forever appreciate you all . Thank you for giving him his final ride he honestly would have loved it. I highly recommend W.udens to everyone they’re supportive, compassionate, understanding and know how to sympathise and get yous through these difficult times and they care dearly for our loved ones.

Florence L.

I expressed my heartfelt thanks for the exceptional care, professionalism, and kindness W. Uden & Sons provided for my late son's funeral service. Thank you for the care and support you provided for us.

Melanie H.

Most amazing helpful respectful people when needed the most. Very professional and supportive on the day which made everything run smoothly. They left us with wonderful memories on what was a sad day saying goodbye to our lovely Brenda. We couldn't have chosen anybody better keep doing your remarkable job Uden & SonsThank you

Terry B.

We cannot thank Udens Funeral Directors enough for the care, compassion and professionalism they showed our family following the loss of my wife.From the beginning, Bina was wonderful. Assisted by her colleague, Alfie, Bina guided us through every part of planning and arranging my wife's funeral service and burial with patience, sensitivity and genuine kindness. At an incredibly difficult time, they made sure everything was handled properly and that the service reflected the person my wife was. Most importantly, we always felt that my late wife was being treated with dignity, care and respect.A special thank you also goes to Jack, who brought my wife home to us overnight before the funeral. Having her home with us one final time meant more to our family than I can properly put into words, and Jack handled such a deeply emotional moment with enormous sensitivity and respect.On the day of the funeral, Lee looked after us exceptionally well. His calm, reassuring and professional manner helped carry us through one of the hardest days of our lives. Everything was handled with dignity and without us having to worry about what needed to happen next.What stood out throughout was that we never felt as though we were simply dealing with a funeral company. Bina, Alfie, Jack and Lee treated my late wife as a person and treated us as a family who had lost someone deeply loved.Thank you to everyone at Udens for taking such good care of my wife and for helping us give her the beautiful and dignified farewell she deserved. Our family will always be grateful.