It was the winter of 1990, Collins Opie, the owner and operator of the then Collins Opie Ltd (Funeral Directors) of Paraparaumu, contacted Andrew Malcolm and arranged a dinner. He also invited the Local Anglican ministers and their respective spouses. This dinner had a secret agenda, for them to ‘check out’ Andrew and see if he was suitable to manage or run the funeral business, as Mr Opie was not in the best of health.  

The request to manage the operation never got further than a suggestion until the time Mr Opie’s health took a rapid decline, at which time the business was then put up for sale. In light of previous discussions, it was suggested that Andrew get the first option to purchase, and so on 19 May 1992, Andrew & Merryn Malcolm, along with a silent partner, sat with the accountant and lawyer and signed the sale and purchase documents. A name change came at the same time to signal a fresh start as the old business traded out, and so KAPITI COAST FUNERAL HOME was born. At the time there were 2 other Funeral Homes in the area, Prosser Funeral Home and Tudor Funeral Home. 

Christine Burnett, who worked for Mr Opie, agreed to stay with the business, and soon her husband Paul had joined the team. A new Funeral Director, Ian Upton, a well-known resident of Waikanae, joined the business the following year and the first funeral Mr Upton assisted with was actually the funeral of the previous owner, Collins Opie, who died on 22 February 1993.  

Andrew continued to build the business while Ian’s wife Anna joined in a part-time capacity with catering support and aftercare bereavement support, as did Andrew’s his wife Merryn who assisted where she could in between giving birth to and helping raise their five children, David, Samuel, and then Joshua, Jacqui and Katelyn over the ensuing years. The business expanded over the 30 years with new staff joining and new ventures being added, including a headstone & plaque Company (Kapiti Memorials), a Catering Company (Kapiti Katering), a new Funeral Home Chapel and property expansions in 2008, and then in 2012 a Crematorium and second Chapel was set up by Andrew in Awa Tapu Cemetery (Kapiti Crematorium).  The final piece of the puzzle was in 2020 following the purchase of the building across the road from the Funeral Home, the Kapiti Old Mill, with a space created to house the Loss and Grief Centre with counselling, resource rooms and a secondary seminar/function space. Andrew and Merryn are proud to have been a part of the Kapiti Community now for 30 years. 

Get a special edition historical funeral home Pre/Planning & Bereavement Guide.
This 44-page glossy book is available free of charge and can be picked up from the foyer at the Kapiti Coast Funeral Home.