Having lost his father at home in Harehills some 5 years earlier, it was the death of his mother, Beryl, at St Gemma’s Hospice in 1998, which truly inspired Hugh Gooding to become a funeral director.

Hugh was a real local lad who had lived in Leeds for almost 60 years. He had moved with his mother as a very small child to join his father here in the early 1950s. He loved everything about his city, and his knowledge of Leeds and the surrounding area was unrivalled.

Hugh spent almost 10 years training with both independent and corporate funeral firms, including Co-operative Group and Dignity, across the region before he went on to qualify as a funeral director. He launched Hugh Gooding Funeral Services in May 2007 and immediately became the first black funeral director of independent status in the North of England and one of only two black funeral directors in the UK at the time.

Hugh’s ethos was to provide personalised, compassionate care and an excellent standard of service to everyone. A naturally likeable chap, Hugh fostered warmth with the professional relationships he developed and his genuine caring and friendly demeanour was always received favourably by those fortunate enough to have met him.

Sadly, following a short illness in 2012, Hugh passed away. His memory and his work live on.