Honouring your loved one as I would a friend or a member of my own family.
Allie is a specialist funeral celebrant who is dedicated to celebrating the life of those that have passed. With this single focus, Allie is truly present for you to offer comfort, support, and sensitivity at a time of grief and vulnerability.
Whether the passing of your loved one has been sudden and unexpected, or you have supported your loved one through an extended illness, the grief can be overwhelming. Allie has experienced grief first hand and has worked with many families as they embark on the same path.
At your time of grief, Allie can lead you through the myriad of options available to best honour the life of your loved one and help you say a personal, meaningful farewell.
“As a celebrant, I have been able to draw on my personal encounters with grief and my experience in Hospice to support and guide you through this difficult journey. I pride myself on being a celebrant who brings warmth and empathy to your loved ones memorial.”
- Allie
Allie’s Story
“When mum was diagnosed with a terminal illness, the values my parents had instilled in me came to the fore and I chose to walk away from a successful management career in sales and marketing within the finance industry to become my mother’s primary caregiver. Wanting to understand what we were all feeling, I completed University papers on grief and dying – great for the head, but no real value for the heart and what was to come.
After Mum’s passing, I decided not to return to my corporate career. Instead, I decided to continue down a path that best mirrored my values, and I joined Hospice as their Planned Giving Manager. My role was a non-clinical position stewarding the special supporters – known as the Circle of Friends - who had decided to leave a gift in their Will to Hospice. The role was a perfect fit, and during my five-year tenure I was able to introduce many new supporters to the Circle of Friends, including myself and my husband.
During this time, I also introduced a successful out-reach programme speaking with members of community groups and retirement villages, introducing palliative care that encompassed not only mind, body and soul for the patient but also for their caregiver and immediate family. Interestingly, over her eight-year illness, Mum had never been spoken to about the services Hospice could offer patients with life-limiting conditions. This is why I am so passionate about sharing their work - it truly would have made a huge difference to my Mum and our family.
I have been privileged to meet and befriend many patients and their families at Hospice who have asked me to help them say their final farewell. Wanting to provide only the very best for them, I studied with the Auckland Celebrant School and became a member of the Celebrants Association of New Zealand (CANZ), a professional body that monitors professional standards and offers ongoing training for their members.
Outside of my work as a celebrant, I love spending time with family and friends and have a very tight network of extraordinary long-term friends who I delight in socialising with. I’m a prolific reader of both fiction and non-fiction – something my parents were passionate about. I remember fondly every Sunday when we would visit our local library, return our books from the week before and choose our next set of books. We’d then pick up fish n chips for tea on the way home – a simple yet wonderful experience as a child.
My husband Grant and I have a blended family of four adult children and three “grandies” and hopefully, many more to come. We live on the North Shore and work on the Hibiscus Coast – both now feel like my local neighbourhood! I’m also a keen traveller and have enjoyed exploring the world in the last little while after my children left home. I hope it won’t be too long before international borders are open again.”