I lived above the funeral home at 294 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden (now the Mt Eden Countdown car park) from the day I was born until I was aged seven. I was never a stranger to death from a young age, never giving it much thought either once I left school. On
leaving school I got an apprenticeship in the fashion industry as a design and pattern cutter in women’s fashion shoes, working for Morrow Taylor in Newmarket.
Once my four years of study and apprenticeship was fulfilled I headed overseas, travelling in Asia, South America, Africa and settled in the United States for a few years.
On my return to New Zealand I was asked to consider working for Davis’ in the family business. At that time my father, Cedric, and uncle, Neil had just completed building Grange Manor, replacing the old chapel up the road. This was 1991 and by 1992 I was studying how to embalm at Central Institute of Technology in Wellington. I graduated in 1993 and then studied funeral directing gaining a diploma in Funeral Service in 1995.
I have just completed 30 years in funeral service. The profession for me has become all I know; in business, guiding grieving families, and looking after our caring team of professionals.
I have had the privilege during my time as a funeral director of looking after two State Funerals, one for Sir Edmund Hilary and the other for Sir Paul Reeves. They will both remain as highlights of my career.
Today I am Managing Director of Propel Funeral Partners NZ and manage funeral homes across the country. This allows me to work with some wonderfully passionate people who are always trying to find new ways of making a farewell for a loved one a more memorable and meaningful experience.
Now that my three boys have grown into young men and with the support of my wonderful wife I have the opportunity to fulfil my passion for ocean sailing, having now sailed over 13,000 nautical miles across Asia, Europe and the Pacific. I manage to squeeze this in when time permits, however in a covid world this has become more difficult.
