The Importance of Tribute

For many, the act of creating a tribute can be a deeply cathartic process, providing a tangible connection to the loved one lost. It’s a way to express love, respect, and admiration, crystallising their memories into something that can be shared and appreciated by others. Tributes serve as a testament to the deceased’s influence, embodying their virtues, passions, and the indelible mark they’ve left on the world.

Personalised Memorials

The beauty of memorials lies in their versatility and personal nature. They can take various forms, each reflecting the unique personality, interests, and life story of the deceased. Here are a few ideas to inspire:

1. Memorial Gardens

A memorial garden, whether in a public space or a corner of your backyard, is a living tribute that grows and changes with time, much like our memories. Planting their favourite flowers, installing a bench with a commemorative plaque, or creating a stone pathway lined with meaningful quotes can transform a space into a serene spot for reflection and remembrance.

2. Commemorative Art

Art has a profound capacity to evoke emotion and commemorate life. Commissioning a piece of art—be it a sculpture, painting, or mural—that captures the essence of your loved one can be a beautiful way to keep their memory alive. This artwork can reside in a place of significance, offering a visual reminder of their spirit and presence.

3. Digital Tributes

In our digital age, creating a virtual space for memories offers a way to share the story of your loved one with a broader community. Online memorials, social media pages, or dedicated websites can host photos, stories, and messages, allowing friends and family from around the world to contribute and remember together.

4. Charitable Foundations

For those whose loved ones were passionate about a cause or charity, establishing a foundation or scholarship in their name can be a lasting legacy that impacts others positively. This type of tribute ensures their values and passions continue to make a difference in the world.

5. Personalised Keepsakes

Small, personalised items such as engraved jewellery, customised photo books, or even quilts made from their clothing can be comforting keepsakes for family and friends. These items serve as daily reminders of the love and connection shared.

The Healing Power of Remembrance

Engaging in the creation of these tributes can be a healing process in itself, providing an outlet for grief and a focus for the love that remains. At Rowley Funerals, we’ve seen firsthand how memorialising a loved one can bring comfort, offering a sense of continuity and connection that transcends death.

Conclusion

The process of crafting lasting tributes for loved ones is a deeply personal and meaningful journey. It allows us to encapsulate the essence of those we’ve lost in ways that resonate with their life story and our memories of them. At Rowley Funerals, we encourage individuals and families to explore these expressions of love and remembrance, finding solace in the knowledge that while our loved ones may be gone, their legacy lives on. In these acts of tribute, we find not only a path to healing but a celebration of life that endures beyond death.

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• Interment Options: Choosing to bury the ashes in a cemetery or a special location provides a tangible place for remembrance and reflection. In Auckland, serene gardens and dedicated areas in cemeteries offer a respectful and peaceful setting for this purpose.

• Scattering Ashes: Scattering ashes in a meaningful place, whether it’s a beloved garden, a favourite park, or near the ocean, symbolises a return to nature and the liberation of the spirit. This act can be deeply symbolic and comforting for the bereaved.

• Keeping Ashes at Home: For some families, keeping the ashes in a beautiful urn at home allows for a continual sense of presence and closeness. Rowley Funerals offers a range of tasteful urns to accommodate various preferences and styles.

• Ashes into Jewellery or Art: Transforming ashes into jewellery or art pieces is a unique way to keep the memory of a loved one close. These bespoke items serve as a subtle yet poignant reminder of their presence in your life.

• Planting Trees or Flowers: Using ashes to nurture the growth of a tree or flowers creates a living memorial. This eco-friendly option is a beautiful way to symbolise the continuation of life and a lasting legacy.

• Memorial Glass: The conversion of ashes into exquisite glass art is an innovative and artistic approach to memorialisation. These stunning pieces of art serve as beautiful, tangible memories of the departed.

• Memorial Benches or Plaques: Installing a bench or plaque in a meaningful location can offer a place for contemplation and remembrance. These memorials provide a physical space to visit and remember the life and contributions of the loved one.

• Community Projects: Involvement in community projects or donations in the name of the deceased can be a way to memorialise them while contributing positively to society. This can be particularly meaningful if the project aligns with the interests or values of the departed.

The process of memorialising ashes offers a range of personal and creative options. At Rowley Funerals, your trusted funeral directors in Auckland, we are here to support you in exploring these options and honouring your loved one in a way that truly reflects their essence and your bond with them.

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• What is an Eco Funeral?: An eco funeral focuses on minimising environmental impact. This involves considering every aspect of the funeral process, from the preparation of the deceased to the final disposition.
• Sustainable Caskets: We offer a range of caskets made from sustainable materials, produced through environmentally friendly processes. These caskets are not only elegant but also leave a lighter footprint on the Earth.
• Preparation and Embalming: Eco funerals often involve alternative methods for caring for the deceased. This ranges from full embalming using eco-friendly chemicals to opting for no embalming at all, depending on the family’s preference.
• Reduced Travel and Venue Choices: Hosting the entire funeral at one location, such as our Anne Street Chapel, significantly reduces travel and carbon emissions. We support families in making these environmentally conscious decisions.
• Burial or Cremation: Families can choose between traditional burial and cremation. We also offer information on natural burials, a practice that promotes the return of the body to the earth in a natural manner.
• Personalisation and Respect for Nature: Eco funerals are not only about respecting the environment but also about personalising the farewell in a way that aligns with the deceased’s values and lifestyle.
• Rowley Funerals’ Commitment: At Rowley Funerals, we are dedicated to providing families with sustainable funeral options. We guide and support families through each step, ensuring choices that reflect both respect for the deceased and the environment.

Choosing an eco funeral with Rowley Funerals, your trusted funeral directors in Devonport, means choosing a farewell that honours your loved one while also honouring the planet. We are here to help you make informed and meaningful choices during this significant time. For more information about eco funeral options visit www.ecofunerals.co.nz

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Moving Away From Tradition 

Funeral services in Hauraki have been moving away from more formal and sad ceremonies towards more light-hearted celebrations of life, for many years now. This enables families to celebrate the life of their loved one, more joyfully and less formally. Hosting a celebration of remembrance as opposed to a traditional memorial service can better reflect the deceased’s personality, interests and passions. 

Despite this, whilst funeral services have developed in a distinctive Kiwi manner, the legal rules around burial and cremation were written around fifty years ago in 1968, and these have pretty much remained unchanged. 

Growing Trends in Funeral Services

Direct cremations paired with celebratory memorial services are becoming more popular as more people move away from traditional burial services. There has been a big boost in direct cremations in the most recent five years in particular. 

Whilst less traditional funerals have decreased in popularity, funeral homes are still encouraging families to host some type of service because these services can help with the grieving process. 

In our current day and age, there are a multitude of funeral options available. Unfortunately, despite there being a range of options available it is the lack of planning in advance which means that loved ones cannot afford the funeral they would have hoped for their deceased loved one. 

In New Zealand, only 5% of people pre-plan their funerals, compared to 15% in Australia. If Kiwis planned for their funeral the same way they planned to save for cars, weddings and retirement then this could solve many problems. 

As the Kiwi culture continues to diversify to reflect the change in society, so do our types of funeral services Here at Rowley Funerals, we offer a full range of funeral services in Hauraki for your consideration. We promise to work with you to create an experience tailored to your specific requirements. Get in touch with us today.

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We at Rowley Funerals hope to make this choice a little easier through this blog post. We offer professional, compassionate cremation services in North Shore alongside more traditional burials, which enables us to provide an informed perspective on cremation versus burial, below.

The Benefits of Cremation

In simple terms, cremation is the process in which a deceased person is transformed into ashes, through the application of powerful heat in a cremation chamber. There are several reasons why someone may opt for cremation:

1. It’s affordable – Cremation costs much less than traditional burial, as there is no burial plot, casket or headstone required. The choice of urn can increase or decrease the price.
2. Keep your loved ones’ remains close – Cremation is a flexible funeral process, where you can keep your loved ones’ remains close – either in an urn or in jewellery form – after the funeral.
3. It can take place in any location – After the cremation process, you can host a funeral anywhere with your loved ones’ remains. They can be scattered in a sentimental place, or stored safely in the home.
4. It’s environmentally conscious – Cremation doesn’t involve the use of land or embalming chemicals, so whilst carbon emissions are released during the process, the overall environmental impact is lower.

The Benefits of Burial

1. A lasting memorial to your loved one – Burial plots can be visited time and time again, a physical and tangible reminder of your loved one. You can leave flowers, tokens or photographs. This is meaningful, and a major reason why people opt for burials over cremations.
2. New, eco-friendly burial options – New ‘green burials’ make this usually environmentally taxing process much more eco-friendly. Natural burials, without embalming chemicals or extensive land use, are increasingly popular.
3. Easily personalised to your loved one – For burials, everything from the casket and headstone to the burial plot can be personalised to exact requirements, and therefore adhere to the wishes of your loved one.
4. It’s more familiar – All in all, burial is a more ‘familiar’ form of funeral than cremation; people are more comfortable with it, and a familiar process can be soothing when mourning a lost loved one.

Which one is best?

There is no right answer to this question. Often, cultural and religious considerations are the key to deciding between a burial and cremation. It’s important to make sure that a funeral aligns with the desires and faith of the deceased. Other factors, such as cost and environmental impact, are more prevalent today than ever before. Professional advice, like from the funeral directors at Rowley Funerals, may be decisive in taking the final step towards the funeral process. We can shed light on local regulations, and available options depending on your circumstances.

For yourself or a loved one, say goodbye in the way you want to, whether that is through cremation services in North Shore or burial. We urge you do so with Rowley Funerals, where we prioritise your choices throughout the funeral process. Reach out to a compassionate member of our team, today.

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A funeral director will assit friends and families in planning the funeral; this includes deciding on the time, date and location.

Once the funeral director has met with the loved ones of the deceased to find out what type of funeral they wish to have, the funeral director can begin co-ordinating the funeral arrangements. Usually, the funeral director will ask personal questions about the deceased to get to know their character so that they can be remembered in a meaningful manner on the day of the funeral.

Next, it is the responsibility of the funeral director to prepare the paperwork, and venue for the funeral, hire a celebrant or minister and order the coffin. A big part of a funeral director’s role includes dealing with coroners, filing death certificates, submitting death notices to newspapers, editing obituaries, putting together orders of service, organising services like flowers or transport and liaising with churches or crematoriums.

Most importantly, arrangements will be made for the collection and care of the deceased’s body until the day of the funeral.

The main duty of the funeral director is to care for the friends, family and colleagues of the deceased by offering support and a listening ear during this grieving time in the lead-up to the funeral.

Despite the funeral itself being the main focus of a funeral director’s job, a lot goes on beforehand to bring the ceremony together.

Looking for funeral directors in North Shore? Here at Rowley Funerals, we provide a wide range of funeral services in Auckland to help you create the perfect funeral ceremony for the deceased. Our team of highly experienced funeral directors are readily available to support and guide you through the funeral process, gladly at your side throughout it all. So, you can rest assured that we are always on hand to help you through this difficult time. Get in touch with us today.

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Uplifting music can help set a positive tone

Using uplifting music will depend on the tone you wish to set for the service. In many cases, the use of uplifting music can help to encourage the service to be more of a celebration as opposed to a sorrowful day. By implementing uplifting music into the service, friends and family can feel comforted.

Choose the best songs to represent your loved one

It’s essential that you choose songs that would be meaningful to the person who has passed away. This could involve playing their favourite artist, or a song which holds significance to them. Some families opt to play a mix of genres and styles that reflect the diverse interests and personalities of their loved one who has passed away.

When should music be played at the funeral?

As mentioned earlier, there are no set rules for funerals, so music can be played at any time you feel suits. Most religious services will play music during incoming and outgoing processions. For non-religious services, people tend to opt to play music during the procession times.

Many people opt to play funeral songs in the background during the period of reflection or prayer, if you opt to do this you will need to carefully decide the right song for this moment. If you’re planning a slideshow to broadcast then you may want to select a few songs which would suit the theme of the images.

At Rowley Funerals we’ve got years of experience in providing a wide range of funerals in Auckland. No matter the type of funeral service that you would like for your loved one, you can rely on Rowley Funerals to be with you every step of the way. Get in touch with us today.

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1) Notify authorities and family

The first step is often the most difficult: notifying the relevant authorities. If the person passed away at home or in a healthcare setting, contact the appropriate authorities such as the police, to officially document the death. You will then need to inform close family members and friends about the passing. This is usually done online to make the process as smooth as possible.

2) Choose a funeral home

Our advice is to do your research and choose a reputable funeral home that will help you with the arrangements.  Find someone who will guide you through the process, provide you with options, and handle the more difficult aspects of the funeral such as organising the service.

3) Take note of any funeral preferences

If you happen to know the person’s wishes or preferences, now is the time to discuss these, along with any special rituals they may have requested, or you believe they would like. Ultimately, it will be up to you to decide on cremation or burial, and whether the service is religious, memorial etc.

4) Notify others 

Now that things are in motion regarding the funeral, it might be a good time to begin notifying extended family members, colleagues, or anyone else about the passing and share details about the funeral service. Again, social media is often used for this purpose, but you could use an obituary or personal letters if you prefer.

5) Prepare donations, eulogies etc. 

This would be the stage where you would prepare an obituary or eulogy about the person’s life and accomplishments. You can decide whether you’d like flowers at the service or if you’d prefer to suggest charitable donations instead – perhaps to a cause the person cared about.

The final stage is preparing logistics and whether you’re having a reception after the funeral. Remember that arranging a funeral is a personal process and there is no right or wrong. Our directors for funerals in Auckland have many years of experience and will help you to find the balance whilst creating a meaningful send-off for your loved one.

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One aspect of funerals that isn’t discussed much is the stress that can be caused by not knowing how to behave during the ceremony. This particularly affects those who haven’t been to many funerals and may therefore be unsure of what’s expected of them.

If you’re planning to attend a funeral and you’re not certain of the etiquette, Rowley Funerals and our funeral home in Auckland can help. We’ve put together this list of dos and don’ts to follow when attending a funeral, so you can say goodbye without having to worry about inadvertently doing something inappropriate.

1) Don’t forget to let people know you’re attending

If you’ve been invited to a funeral and you’ve decided you want to be there, it’s really important to respond to that invitation. For health and safety reasons, some venues may have capacity limits, so showing up unannounced could cause problems. Also, it’s polite to let the family (or whoever is organising) know that you’ll be in attendance.

2) Don’t be late

It’s really important that you don’t arrive late, as not only will this be embarrassing for you, but many people will consider this disrespectful towards the deceased. Aim to arrive a short time before the service is due to begin, and leave yourself plenty of time to get there.

3) Do switch your phone off

Many of us carry our phones in our pockets all day, making it easy to forget it’s there. But the last thing you – and the other funeral attendees – want is for it to ring in the middle of the service. Switch it off or put it on silent mode before the funeral begins.

4) Do wear black

Unless you are told otherwise, black or other dark clothes are typically considered the most appropriate thing to wear to a funeral.

If you’ve found yourself with a funeral to plan and you’re searching for funeral homes in Auckland, Rowley Funerals are here for you. We know that organising a funeral can be a distressing time, so we’ll work with you to arrange the perfect send off for your loved one.

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1) Notify and gather support 

When a loved one passes away, begin by notifying immediate family members and close friends. Reach out to trusted individuals who can provide emotional support and assist you throughout the funeral planning process. Share the news with relevant parties, such as employers or organizations, to make necessary arrangements. Having a support system in place will help alleviate some of the burden and allow you to focus on the necessary tasks.

2) Choose a funeral home and director 

Select a reputable funeral home that aligns with your needs and values. Meet with the funeral director to discuss your preferences and gather information about available funeral services Auckland. They will guide you through the legal requirements, assist with paperwork, and offer advice on various funeral options, including burial or cremation, caskets, urns, and memorial services.

3) Determine the funeral type and logistics 

Decide on the type of funeral or memorial service you envision. Consider factors such as cultural or religious customs, personal preferences, and budget. Discuss the desired location, date, and time with the funeral home. Coordinate details such as transportation for the deceased, seating arrangements, audio-visual presentations, music, readings, and speakers.

4) Personalize the ceremony

Create a personalized ceremony that honours the life and memory of your loved one. Consider their hobbies, passions, and achievements when selecting readings, music, or rituals. Include eulogies or speeches from family members or close friends who can share heartfelt stories or memories. Display photographs, memorabilia, or a tribute table that represents their life journey. Personal touches can provide solace and help attendees celebrate and remember the unique individual your loved one was.

5) Communicate and invite attendees

Inform family, friends, colleagues, and community members about the funeral arrangements. Utilize various communication channels such as phone calls, emails, social media, or newspaper announcements. Include relevant details such as the date, time, location, and any specific requests or instructions. Consider creating an online obituary or memorial page where people can leave messages and share their condolences.

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