Adding Flavour to Funerals -Full

20 May 2025, 1:42 pm

(0:00) Hey Dad, I’ve only been a funeral director for a short time, compared to you, but what (0:05) are some things that add flavour to a funeral? (0:08) I think there’s lots of things that add flavour to a funeral, and some of the things we don’t (0:13) even realise we do in our culture, pallbearing or carrying the casket is a classic one. (0:18) If you think of the English, they have professional pallbearers, whereas in New Zealand we tend (0:23) to ask family, friends, whoever is appropriate to carry the casket, and it’s amazing how (0:30) people think, oh I’ve got to choose the six people who are right, but actually there’s (0:34) often lots of chances to carry the casket, if you’re taking it home, if you’re carrying (0:38) it into a chapel, out of a chapel, to a graveyard. (0:42) There are lots of ways, and you can mix it up, grandchildren, friends, whoever, so be (0:47) creative with the carrying of the casket.

(0:50) So, what about drawing on the casket, for example? (0:54) Yeah, that’s a great example of how you can add flavour to a funeral. (0:59) Two examples, a really simple plain wooden casket where people can draw pictures, particularly (1:04) grandchildren, but also friends, or write a message, or a funeral like I had recently (1:09) where they were far more formal, they had a lovely white casket, but they still wanted (1:15) people to write a message, so they wrote it on the lid, so that it wasn’t quite so in (1:18) your face during the more formal funeral. (1:20) But you can be as creative with that, or as formal, or as serious as you like, but (1:27) adding flavour and giving people a chance to interact can be part of it.

(1:31) Yeah, we’ve been talking about adding flavour to funerals, personalising them, but what (1:35) about vehicles? (1:36) Yeah, vehicles, so a hearse is a hearse, some people have different hearses, we have gold (1:43) hearses that are a nice rich sort of sand gold, not a garish gold, some people still (1:49) like traditional black hearses, we have a white vehicle as well, but it’s not just (1:53) about the hearse, it’s about the other vehicles. (1:55) If someone’s in the hot rod club, why not bring hot rods to the funeral? (1:59) If they were a trainee and they have utes, well bring the utes, and maybe even with the (2:05) right ute, you can put the casket on and use the ute as the hearse, or use the hot rod as (2:11) the hearse. (2:12) It’s a great, great idea, personalising the vehicle.

(2:16) So, what about adding colour? (2:18) Colour’s a great one, I love it. (2:21) Recent funerals we had a bowler who loved that, and it doesn’t sound like colour, but (2:25) white bowling colour, which is an eggshell sort of colour, so he had his casket painted (2:31) in that, and then of course adorned it with other bowling things. (2:35) But also there’s a funeral we did recently together where the lady loved blue, a particular (2:39) colour, I call it old lady blue, and so in the notice everyone was asked to wear blue.

(2:45) It just gives that personal touch to the funeral. (2:48) People actually have almost a bit of fun as they arrive because they know they’re honouring (2:52) her love of blue. (2:54) So, why not add colour? (2:56) Why not add it to the casket, what you’re wearing, or even the venue itself?