Arranging a Funeral

Things you should think about

After the death of a family member or close friend, it is important to know that you can depend on experienced, professional people to make all the arrangements to ensure the funeral flows smoothly.

It is important that you choose the funeral ceremony that is right for you and your family. Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors can guide you through the choices available, and will take care of all the details. Our caring team of professionals will liaise with clergy and celebrants, doctors, hospitals, government departments, coroners and other officials, crematoriums and cemetery authorities so you don’t have to worry.

We can also arrange music and musicians including an organist, place notices in the newspapers, and provide vehicles, order family flowers, organise the audio or video/DVD recording of the service, arrange the placement of ashes and memorials, and anything else you require.

Staff at Gee & Hickton are available to speak to local community groups and schools about funerals, and we are also pleased to host community groups at our premises.

Making the right choices

Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors can explain the choices available:

• The different types of ceremony, religious or otherwise
• The best location for the service: a church or chapel, at home, at the graveside
• or crematorium
• Who should officiate: a priest, minister, celebrant or family members
• Whether you want to view the deceased, and where the viewing should be
• Whether you want to have a burial or cremation
• Whether you want flowers or charitable donations
• The most appropriate funeral notice
• Casket selection
• The order of service, the choice of music and hymns
• Venue for a post-funeral get together and how to arrange it
• What other professional help is available

Taking care of details

Once the choices are made, it is up to you how little or how much you want our professional and experienced staff to help with arrangements.
 We can take care of the following details:

• The registration of death and necessary documentation
• Contacting appropriate burial or cremation authorities, as well as contacting the doctor, coroner or hospital and collection of certificates
• Arranging national or international transportation or repatriation within New Zealand or any other country
• Liaising with clergy or funeral celebrants, assisting with the service and organizing funeral details
• The provision and preparation of the casket, which you can select from our onsite showroom
• Embalming to ensure hygienic preservation and natural presentation
• Providing viewing facilities in comfortable premises
• Ordering family flowers for the casket
• Providing transport to and from the funeral in our fleet of hearses and cars, which includes a classic Rolls Royce (available on request)
• Preparing and placing newspaper notices locally or internationally
• Arranging monumental masonry for the memorial stone
• Arranging the scattering or burial of ashes in Auckland or in other centers, as well as providing quality urns.

For more information or advice please click here or phone Gee & Hickton.