8 Charlotte Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 4AJ
197 Allaway Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 4HG
228 Havant Road, Drayton, Hampshire PO6 1PA
Unit 2, Hambledon Road, Denmead, Hampshire PO7 6NU
DENISE CHAPMAN - Business Owner and Managing Director
Denise has a wealth of experience and knowledge, she has worked in the funeral industry for over 18 years, starting her journey as volunteer then becoming an arranger where she learned everything she needed to in order to fulfil her dream of opening her very own funeral branches.
Denise was born and raised in Portsmouth so she is more than familiar with the local community and fully understands the difficulties, issues, and hardships some families may go through because she has first-hand experience of them herself in the past. This why she is committed to providing respectful, dignified, affordable and competitively priced funerals to each and every individual/family who chooses Forever Together to take care of their loved ones.
Densie has not only built up a very successful and reputable business but she has also brought together an experienced, efficient, highly skilled, caring and likeminded team who are as committed as she is to providing a highly competent, caring, and personal service to each and every person who comes through the Forever Togethers doors.
Coming from a large and very close knit family herself (she has 4 children and 11 grandchildren), family, compassion and friendship is at the very core of everything Denise and Forever Together stands for.
ABBIE BOND - Funeral Conductor
Forever Together's first female conductor. Abbie has been working in the funeral industry since 2012.
Abbie has worked for over 11 years as a funeral arranger working closely with hundreds of families over the years arranging funerals and supporting the family members throughout the whole process from first point of contact, all the way until the day of the funeral service.
Abbie is one of the most experienced members of the team, however, her true calling had always been to become a conductor and to work more closely with the deceased ensuring they receive the professional care and attention that they deserve. In 2022 she finally realised her dream and became our first female funeral conductor, she works together with Mike providing the care and attention, bringing loved ones into our care and the conducting side of the business.
MICHAEL CHAPMAN - Funeral Conductor
Mike and Denise have been married for over 30 years making this a truly family run business, he is Denise’s right-hand man, Mike joined the Forever Together team to work alongside Denise in 2020.
Mike works tirelessly, mainly behind the scenes bringing those who have passed away into our care no matter what time of the day or night 12 months of the year. He also takes care of the deceased with the utmost care and dignity, preparing and encoffining them, taking fingerprints and/or locks of hair for their loved ones (as required) he transports and escorts them to their final resting place such as church or crematorium as a conductor he makes sure that everything goes smoothly and efficiently while taking care of the families and mourners throughout the funeral service itself.
On the rare days he’s not working, you can invariably find Mike on the golf course.
FUNERAL ARRANGERS & ASSISTANTS
Each one of Forever Togethers funeral arrangers bring their own unique personality and skill set to the table, combined, they have a multitude of experience, knowledge, expertise and skills which make them a formidable team. They work both individually and together to ensure that every person and family that come to us is taken care of to the highest of standards.
NICKY
Nicky is Denise’s only daughter and has followed her mum and stepdad Mike into the funeral profession.
As well as currently raising three children ages 3 to 17, Nicky is an integral and valued part of the mortuary team working mainly behind the scenes alongside Mike and Abbie where she assists with bringing the deceased into our care, dressing and encoffining them and making sure they are taken care of until the day they leave us to go onto their final destination.
She takes great pride in her work and finds it incredibly rewarding.
EMMA
Emma joined Forever Together in 2020, she is an experienced and knowledgeable funeral arranger who excels client focused care.
CHARMAINE
Charmaine was born and raised in Portsmouth. She worked for a supermarket for almost 14 years which, at the time, suited her family commitments and where she honed her customer service skills and knowledge.
She initially joined Forever Together on a voluntary basis after losing her beloved mother-in-law and then her auntie just 11 days later, Charmaine felt the need to give back and wanted to take care of families who'd also lost loved ones. She soon proved herself to be a competent and compassionate arranger, and realised that working with bereaved families was her purpose in life. She takes great pride in helping families at their time of need.
TILLIE-MAE
Tillie one of the youngest members of the Forever Together team, she was always interested in working in the funeral industry, so when she left school, she applied to several Funeral Directors but was always turned down due to her young age and inexperience, to the point that she almost gave up. However, Denise saw something special in her and decided to give her a chance and took her under her wing. Initially, Denise offered her a volunteer role to see just how serious Tillie was, but within a few weeks Tillie proved to be a quick and eager learner and she fast became a popular and invaluable member of the Forever Together team.
Tillie says of Denise – “despite my young age and inexperience she really did believe in me and if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am today” – she goes on to say, “I absolutely love my job, I find it so rewarding, it’s such a privilege to be entrusted to care for families loved ones which I take very seriously. I hope I can be a role model and my story can inspire anyone who feels like giving up on their dream to just keep trying”. Tillie is now a confident and competent funeral arranger..
LOUISE
Louise joined Forever Together in August 2022 a florist by trade, Louise has spent many years working with a local Funeral Directors providing their bereaved families (clients) with stunning floral tributes for their loved one’s funerals.
During that time, Louise decided that she would like to work more closely and directly with the families to support them with the more personal details and arrangements of the funeral rather than just floral tributes, so in 2020 she joined an independent Funeral Directors where Tracie was branch manager. She worked alongside Tracie where she quickly settled in, expanded her knowledge and gained more experience.
Louise is a real ‘people person’ she effortlessly makes people feel at ease and nothing is ever too much trouble.
TRACIE
Tracie brings many years’ experience as a funeral arranger. She spent over 23 years working as a health, safety, training and facilities manager in the social care sector. After arranging both her in-law’s funerals, she decided to completely change direction and began working in the funeral industry back in 2016.
Initially, starting her training and experience with a large corporate funeral company, Tracie always felt she would prefer to work for a smaller, more family focused independent funeral directors. So she joined Forever Together in 2022 after working for three years for another independent Funeral Director. She brings a wealth of management and administration skills to her role and also many years of experience of working alongside individuals and families who are vulnerable, distressed and emotional, by supporting and advising them to arrange their loved one’s funerals in a way that honours and befits them.
CLAIRE
Claire joined the Forever Together team in March 2023. She also started out in a large corporate funeral directors and has now been working in the funeral industry for over 10 years, so brings with her a wealth of in-depth knowledge and experience.
IAN GRANT - Casual Bearer
Ian was born and lives in Portsmouth and has been working in the funeral industry since 2015 as a casual funeral operative.
Ian is a keen member of the team with an eye for detail and always happy to help out where he can. He is hard working and naturally a caring gentleman who will go the extra mile to help families ease the pain of losing a loved one.
Ian loves to travel with his wife in their beloved VW camper van.
