More Than A Job - Memorial specialist Darren Tan: Life after death
Memorial specialist Darren Tan. Photo: Andre He/Yahoo Singapore
More Than a Job
Whatever your chosen craft, vocation or profession, we all have work to do. In a brand new biweekly series, Yahoo Singapore talks to individuals who have chosen unique, unconventional and distinctive careers. For some, it’s about passion. Others have a sense of duty. But for all of them, it’s more than a job.
Fittingly for a man who helps families fulfil the final wishes of their deceased loved ones, Darren Tan already knows how he wants his family to handle his remains when he passes on.
“In my younger days, I loved diving, I loved the sea,” declared the 39-year-old memorial specialist. “So I have already told them that when I pass away, get me cremated, send me to the sea.”
Tan is director of Memories of Life by CCK Marble, which manufactures tombstones, columbarium plaques and urns. The father of two represents the third generation in a family business that has been around for almost 50 years.
Even though he has been in the business for some 16 years, Tan still gets curious comments from bereaved families such as ‘You’re so young. I thought it’s supposed to be an uncle who’s doing this kind of job.’
“So I tell them, ‘No matter what, someone will have to be in this line. And here I am to assist you,’” said Tan, who previously worked as an engineer and a craftsman. He holds a diploma in mechanical engineering, as well as an advanced diploma in marketing.
A constant demand
(Video by Andre He)
Each month, Tan and his staff of 15 employees and craftsmen assist some 150 to 200 families who opt to cremate their loved ones, as well about 10 who choose to bury them. Meeting with bereaved families requires a great deal of sensitivity and patience, especially if the death was unexpected, said Tan.
“Sometimes, when we are talking halfway through, they start crying, because they still can’t get over the fact that the person has passed away.”
The tombstones and plaques are typically made from granite, marble or glass. Greyish white marble, with its natural veins, is a popular choice. When it comes to granite, red, blue and black tend to be favoured. The materials are imported from countries such as India, China, Italy and Greece.
The cost of a plaque ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than a thousand dollars, depending on the material and the complexity of the design. The plaques are engraved through a sandblasting process, which typically takes one to two days. Tan used to engrave up to 40 plaques a month before he took over the running of the business from his father Johnny Tan, who is now 69 years old.
“My father used to do it by hand, with hammer and chisel. It took at least three to four days for one tombstone,” recalled Tan. “In the olden days, it was a very standard kind of plaque design. But we try to understand more about the deceased, and to design something that the deceased would like. That will really comfort the family during the bereavement period.”
Final requests
A customised tombstone that took five months to construct. Photo source: Darren Tan
Based on these conversations, Tan’s artwork team does up three-dimensional drawings for the families to approve. And while they do request elaborate designs for columbarium plaques, the most unusual requests have been for tombstone designs.
Tan noted, “We have done tombstones designed like a piano, a bass guitar, a car, a navy ship, and a lighthouse.”
The more complex designs are outsourced to factories in China and India. One granite tombstone in particular took almost five months to complete, and cost a five-figure sum. It was carved to resemble a bass amplifier, complete with buttons, knobs and wire.
“The mom asked us to do this design. They told us that the deceased loved music, so instead of a conventional design, they wanted something that would symbolise what the son would prefer,” said Tan.
He added, “What my father always told me is, ‘What the family asks for, you must fulfill.’”
There is a great deal of satisfaction in helping relatives of the deceased find closure, especially when they are appreciative.
“We do get calls and messages and thank-you notes from families. It does actually make us feel very fulfilled. At least our effort is being recognised,” said Tan.
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Look out for the next instalment of More Than A Job on Monday, 4 July.
