Gillions Funeral Services

We sadly lost our beautiful mum, sister and sister in law suddenly recently. We all live away from Dunedin and arranged the funeral via phone until we managed to get to Dunedin a couple of days out from the funeral. Elizabeth was outstanding guiding us and showed so much empathy and professionalism. She organised the perfect celebrant, Emma who did an amazing job of Marilyn’s service.Thank you also to Lee for officiating everything on the day. You are very special people.As a family we could not speak higher of Gillions Funeral Service.

I would give more stars if that were possible. All 10 of my siblings were more than pleased with the way Gillions treated family, the way the service was conducted and the way the families wishes were delivered.. I personally would highly recommend Lee Buckingham for her understanding, compassion and patience in dealing with such a large family. We were also all very impressed with the quality of the preparation of our Mother for viewing that was carried out by Elise. Excellent.

Gillions was perfect for us.My partner passed away during level 3 lockdown so we had a memorial 3 months later.I am so grateful for the support that the staff at Gillions provided me. I became increasingly anxious and felt pressured by the thought of the memorial coming up. Elizabeth and staff were so supportive and reassuring and I was able to hand everything over to them. I felt very supported.From the very first time I rang the and talked to Chester I felt warmth and support. I felt listened to and respected.I loved the homely heart centred venue. It was so inviting and cosy and knew that it would be perfect for my partner and our family and friends. Many of our friends were warmly welcomed to contribute food, books, stories and music. There were no barriers to making our celebration our own. Only warmth and support. It was all 'yes'.Thank you Elizabeth and Chester and all the staff at Gillions. Thank you for a enabling such a beautiful celebration of our loved one.

Mike had liver cancer. The effects of his illness were obvious. He passed away last month. The funeral director who came was called Lee.Mike was to be a valuable learning tool. He was proudly bound for the School of Anatomy.I was very surprised by how rude and disrespectful she was. Ngakau kawa. A quiet sit down to discuss important relevant matters would have been most helpful. Two minutes even. Two minutes.Mike was rushed out the door, and that was my final goodbye.To acknowledge the apprecition the Anatomy Department felt towards the donors and their familes, a special thanksgiving service was held. There was music.singing, karakia. The students read out tributes they had written. Tributes full of respect. Respect for the gift they had been given. Respect was everything, and my husband was worth it. I know that he is now in caring hands.His bequest was generous and brave.He toa taumata rau. Bravery rests in many places.

Gillions 5 STAR care and serviceIt's such a challenging task to write words of thanks and appreciation to the people who so greatly support you through one of the most difficult and emotional weeks of your life. My mother passed after a relatively short but intense period of illness 2 weeks ago after she suffered a fall which broker her arm.As soon as mum passed away and I mean within half an hour I was asked by the nursing home staff 'who are you using for the funeral'? This so standard practice so it's important to be prepared as I wasn't expecting it. I was alone with my dearest friend and I was at a loss. I literally had no idea how to make that important decision in that intense moment of utter loss!But of one thing I was sure and that was who not to use! One of my dearest family friends had told me only the night before don't use these people" (and who she was referring to is a VERY well known funeral service place that used to be family owned - but is now owned by a wealthy Australian company and everyone seems to know who they are). These were her words

From making us a cup of tea when we arrived to view our loved one, talking through the process with us and answering all our questions, to the highly skilled presentation of his body, which looked so lovely. Felt like we were the only customers they had, we were not rushed, they did everything we asked for, and they genuinely had time for us.Have experienced a couple of other funeral homes, this is by far the nicest.I also was particularly impressed with Leigh (not sure how to spell her name) who obviously is passionate about her work, which she carries out with great care and love.Could not have asked for a better preparation for our loved one.