Funeral experts provide the personal touch

Aroha Funerals has had a stressful time recently. They had a serious arson attack on their beautiful old cottage on the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway in October last year. Their intention is to rebuild it but that will take time.

In the meantime, they have been able to find temporary premises at 5 Kitson Place, St Johns. They are able to meet families there, do viewings and be a team again.

They continue to have a space at the Meadowbank Mall too where they have a constant stream of people visiting to ask questions, have a cup of tea, and share memories.

Aroha Funerals are a small funeral company with branches in East Auckland and in Takanini. They believe that death and dying are hugely significant times in our lives. While death is a natural part of life, saying a final goodbye can be one of the hardest things to do.

They feel privileged to work alongside families at this important time and to help them ‘tailor make ‘ a funeral or farewell, to suit both the loved one who has died and the people who are living.

As a small New Zealand-owned company they have the flexibility to cater to families’ individual needs.

“Many people when having a funeral have never arranged one before and they’re overwhelmed and aren’t sure what to do,” Aroha Funerals founder Janet Mikkelsen explains.

“A lot of our job initially is simplifying that, finding out from the family what is important to them, and then helping to guide them.

“We are hands-on and we work very closely with families as to what they need and want.”

Funeral director Rachel Nash says it’s important to make the experience as positive and uplifting as possible for the people they work with.

“Very often people will say to us,

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Experience and balanced judgement are the watch words of this practice.

‘That is the best funeral I’ve ever been to, it’s so full of love and joy’.

“We encourage families to do what they want, and more and more people are realising they want something that reflects their loved one and their feelings for them.”

The Aroha Funerals team walk with families every step of the way from the day their loved one passes through to the funeral and beyond.

Janet says the experience of one family they worked with recently is a perfect example.

“They had the funeral last week and for them it was the whole experience.

“Starting from the time our team members Lucy Pierpoint and Lynda Casey picked him up from the rest home in the middle of the night and accompanied him to the car.

“His family came to visit him at our cottage and that was a healing and beautiful experience.

“Finally, we worked together with them on the funeral, which was amazing and exactly what they wanted.”

Lynda says another aspect of the company’s service that sets it apart is its warmth and feminine touch.

Families come away feeling nurtured and listened to – in what can be a difficult time the team’s gentleness and experience can lead to a trusting relationship.

One of their overriding principles is about working together with families rather than telling them what to do, so each family feels respected and supported.

Aroha Funerals is also a contemporary funeral company in that it’s continually trying to find ways to protect the environment and meet expectations around being natural and eco-friendly.

From their use of electric vehicles to using cooling methods rather than embalming, and the use of locally-made caskets.

These may seem like new ways of working, but the Aroha Funerals team feel they’re reclaiming some of the old ways of working, where families would have been much more involved in the processes around death and dying.

Their calm, empathetic and professional approach helps families find meaning and beauty during a tough time.

Aroha Funerals

5 Kitson Place, St Johns

23A Tironui Road, Takanini

Phone 0800 276 420. Open 24 hours

Website: www.arohafunerals.co.nz