Grief during the holiday season
If you’re finding it difficult, you’re not alone. Grief doesn’t follow a calendar, and there’s no ‘right’ way to navigate the season when someone you love has died. I’ve found that what matters is finding ways to move alongside your grief rather than against it.
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Meet the country's youngest ever NZ Funeral Association president
The average thirty-year-old doesn't spend their working hours thinking about death, but Bradley Shaw is not your average thirty-year-old.
He's just been made President of the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand -- its youngest president ever.
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Symbolic rituals in funeral services – creating meaning in farewell
Rituals are symbolic activities that help us, together with our families and friends, express our deepest thoughts and feelings about life's most important events. We have rituals for the birth of a baby, a coming of age, weddings and, finally, funerals, which serve a fundamental purpose—they provide the framework for processing loss.
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Whakatane local becomes youngest ever Funeral Directors Association President
Whakatane local, 30-year-old Bradley Shaw, has become the youngest ever President of the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand. Mr Shaw, who began in the funeral profession when he was 16 year… Read more
A dinosaur themed farewell for an 8 year old
Kāpiti Coast Funeral Home recently helped create a truly special farewell for eight-year-old Ryder. His dinosaur-themed funeral featured a Jurassic Park soundtrack, a dinosaur-covered casket, and even a heartfelt haka performed by a man in a T-Rex costume.
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Funerals serve the living, so ‘no fuss’ doesn’t help
“I don't want any fuss when I go,” Ewan told his daughter firmly. “Just get rid of me quietly and move on with your lives.” He meant it kindly—a practical man trying to spare his family expense and bother. But when he died six months later, his daughter was distraught. “We've done exactly what Dad wanted,” she said, “but it doesn't feel like enough. We need something to mark his life, to say goodbye properly. Does that make us selfish?”
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What song do you want played at your farewell?
Music has a way of saying what words sometimes can’t. At funerals, a song or piece of music can capture the very essence of a life lived — celebrating personality, values, and memories.
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Funeral to be held for Anahera, baby discovered in recycling
Dignity & Community
Every life deserves to be honoured. Baby Anahera’s funeral reminds us that a funeral isn’t just for family — it’s a moment where a community can gather, acknowledge a life, and say goodbye with love and dignity.
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Caught out at the death
The financial strain of burying loved ones is becoming more evident, say two funeral directors from member firm Grinters Funeral Home.
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