I was born and raised in Palmerston North. I married Ainslie in 1975 we have two adult children, five grandchildren and a cat.
Coming to Wellington
I came to Wellington in 1972 to take up a job with NAC, the domestic airline of New Zealand. I worked at Wellington Airport in various roles including as a freight clerk, aircraft despatch clerk, passenger checkin supervisor and ramp controller.
Setting up a food business
After 10 years I took voluntary redundancy, along with a colleague, and we set up a successful food business in the Wellington CBD which we sold after 7 years of hard work. Then followed a further 12 years in the food industry ending as Client Liaison Manager for Executive Caterers, organising and coordinating weddings and corporate events.
Towards my career as a celebrant
At this stage I had been a Marriage Celebrant for 6 years and had also presided over several funerals. I needed a change and decided I could be a full-time Celebrant, taking both weddings and funerals. This was not to be however, as I discovered that there were already a large number of Celebrants operating in Wellington and not enough ceremonies to provide a full-time income for them all.
I was fortunate to get to know the owner of Lychgate Funeral Home and he offered me a job as a Funeral Director/Celebrant. I accepted the role and embraced both roles from the start when I discovered the privilege and challenge of caring for families in grief. The funeral directing role took precedence and I worked my way up to the position of Manager of three locations but I also took the Celebrancy role for many of the funerals directed by Lychgate.
Going out on my own
That turn of events began in 2002 and I have now come full circle, finding myself in a position which allows me to fulfil my original wish to be a Celebrant, helping people to plan, design and participate in meaningful and unique ceremonies to celebrate and acknowledge significant life events.