For Jahnet Wilks, 56, and Santanna Nightingale, 28, working in the funeral industry is a deeply personal calling shaped by culture, empathy and lived experience. The pair entered the sector in 2021 through very different paths but with common values.
Jahnet’s journey into the funeral sector began with loss. “When my mum passed away during COVID, the experience felt cold,” she shares. “There was a lack of genuine compassion. I didn’t feel acknowledged.” With her background as an NHS care coordinator, Jahnet made the pivotal decision to offer grieving families the care she had once needed herself.
Today, as a funeral arranger at M.A. Mills Funeral Service (now part of A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service), she brings transparency and warmth to every conversation. “Grief strips people bare. I’m here to offer stability, clarity, and emotional space.”
Santanna, who works as a funeral arranger for A.W. Lymn, found her passion as a teenager after watching a documentary about funeral work. “I realised that death was treated like such a taboo subject. But I didn’t think of it like that,” she said. “I saw the beauty in helping people say goodbye with dignity.”
In a field that has historically lacked diversity, both women are among a small yet growing number of black professionals reshaping the face of the funeral sector. It’s a responsibility they carry with pride and purpose.
This October, as the UK marks Black History Month, it’s especially important to recognise the voices of black professionals like Jahnet and Santanna as women who are excelling in their field and reshaping it with compassion, cultural insight, and resilience. Their presence in the funeral sector highlights the ongoing need for greater representation and inclusion across all industries.
“Even if we’re working in predominantly white communities, or Sikh or black neighbourhoods, I bring my full self along with my values, my empathy,” said Santanna, who is of mixed white and Jamaican heritage. Her cultural roots provide a unique sensitivity to the nuances of grief across traditions. “A lot of people mask who they are if they feel out of place. We don’t want to create that environment, we want everybody of every creed and culture to feel welcome.”
Jahnet, who is also Jamaican and has two daughters, has become a beacon for Black families in areas like the Meadows, Sherwood and Arnold. “Representation matters,” she said. “It’s not about how we interact with families, it’s about how comfortable they feel to interact with us when they’re often at their most vulnerable. When families see someone who understands the customs, the music, the expressions of grief common in Caribbean or African funerals, they feel safe.” She’s arranged services honouring Haitian, Sikh, English, and Caribbean traditions. “Each culture expresses grief differently. The key is to adapt respectfully without diluting who you are.”
Both women highlight that emotional intelligence and cultural fluency are essential when dealing with grief-stricken families. “We honour every life, every heritage,” Jahnet said. “Grief doesn’t care about background but the care we provide should reflect it.”
Santanna added: “We’re holding space for people’s stories, faith, and identities. At A.W. Lymn we have amazing facilities that cater for so many backgrounds and faiths. Death is as diverse as life and we’re proud to honour the traditions of each family.”
A.W. Lymn was established in Nottingham in 1907 and has grown to become the city and county’s largest independent funeral directors, operating 25 branches across the region. Having recently acquired M.A. Mills and expanded into Leicestershire, it continues to grow its reach and network of talented funeral directors supporting the bereaved.
M.A. Mills operates four funeral homes across the East Midlands. The business was acquired by A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service in late 2023.
Three former A.W. Lymn funeral homes in Allenton, Cotmanhay and Aspley, were rebranded to M.A. Mills to offer a streamlined service for funeral care, with the same values and mission to provide compassionate, professional and family-focused care. The original M.A. Mills Radcliffe-On-Trent branch has remained in operation.
