Teddy Nanan: MPG’s Trailblazing Crematorium Operator

When Teddy Nanan moved to Toronto from Trinidad more than 40 years ago, he lived just steps from Prospect Cemetery. He’d walk by it daily, quietly imagining a career with Mount Pleasant Group (MPG).

“I think I manifested it,” said Teddy.

That vision became reality in 2000, when he officially joined MPG as a crematorium operator floater. But the path began years earlier, while Teddy was working in construction. One day, he was doing a job at the home of someone who happened to own four funeral homes. Impressed by Teddy’s work ethic, the owner offered him a job – and in 1990, Teddy entered the funeral industry. The rest, as they say, is history.

For Teddy, now the Cremation Centre Coordinator at Meadowvale Cremation Centre, entering the death care field was a significant and personal shift. “I’m from the Caribbean. Typically, working in the death care industry is considered a phobia in my culture,” he said. “Back then, you didn’t see many people of colour working in funeral homes [in Ontario].

“For a while – as far as I know –, I was the only West Indian in Ontario working in death care. There was no one serving the West Indian, Black or Hindu communities. I was doing a lot of witnessing of cremations for the West Indian community,” he said. “You can see how much it means to people to have someone from their background be there for them.”

Over time, Teddy witnessed the industry becoming more inclusive and representative of the communities it serves. “People started to realize the funeral industry needed different ethnicities in the business,” said Teddy. “The whole industry is changing, and seeing people from almost every culture working in this field means a lot – to families and to me.”

Now, with 25 years of experience as a cremation centre coordinator, Teddy still shows up with the same passion he had on day one. His priority is always the families. “When someone loses a loved one, ‘no’ isn’t an option,” he said. “If a family wants a witnessing at a certain day or time, I will accommodate.”