A woman who has a fascination with cemeteries and death has described how she has travelled the globe to attend 200 strangers’ funerals, reported the New York Post. 55-years-old Jeane Trend-Hill, of Islington, London, started going to the funerals when she unintentionally crashed one in 2012 when she entered a church during a service.
Ms Jeane soon started visiting graves on a regular basis, and she claims that local cemetery staff started asking her to attend funerals when a dead person didn’t have friends or family who could attend.
“I’m proud to be that person that goes to strangers’ funerals when there is no one else who can attend,” she told The Independent.
“I’ve always been fascinated with death since I was a child. We would go to cemeteries, and I’d walk around looking at all the graves. They are like outdoor art galleries,” she added.
By attending the funerals of many strangers, Trend-Hill claimed to have “realised that everyone has a story to tell.” “Everyone has lived a life and should have someone around to remember them when they die,” she added.
Her relatives gave her the moniker “rent-a-mourner” for her ability to uplift mourners.
“It’s a name they gave me and it’s a bit fun. Of course, I’d never actually make anyone pay for my attendance at a funeral,” she said.
When Ms Trend Hill’s father passed away at the age of 14 and her mother died when she was 20, she started going to cemeteries more frequently.
Ms Jeane is so committed to caring for cemeteries that she has made trips to Paris and Venice to see them.