Our Services
Distinct Funerals believe that every funeral should be tailored around individual desires and needs, whether cultural, spiritual or personal.
Making decisions after the loss of a loved one can be confusing, difficult and stressful. Distinct will organise and guide you through every step to ease the burden.
Distinct's team offer a complete service from start to finish that is customised to meet your budget.
Below are some of the services commonly requested to help you decide what will best meet the wishes of your loved one.
Burial
A burial will involve either being buried in an existing family plot or purchasing a new plot.
New Zealand law requires that all burials are in an official cemetery or urupa. We can help you with purchasing a plot if required.
Cremation
Cremation offers further options for a final resting place as ashes can be scattered, buried, kept or divided amongst family members.
If cremation is a choice you would like to make, please give some thought as to what you would like done with the ashes as it is often difficult for the family to make this decision after the cremation.
Cremation is currently the choice for the majority of New Zealanders. The main reasons are related to funeral costs and the environment.
Embalming
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them with preservative products to retard the natural decomposition process.
The embalming procedures provided by Distinct Funerals are carried out by qualified and experienced embalmers in our modern facility. Respect and dignity for your loved one are at our core and we take this very seriously.
The embalming process is aiming at three goals:
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Sanitizing
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Preservation
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Presentation
Embalming is not compulsory as long as the time between death and burial/cremation is not longer than three days outside refrigeration. After this period we recommend that the procedure be performed.
Other times included:
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When the family wishes to stay with their loved one at home or at Marae for more than three days.
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After a post mortem procedure
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Improving appearance for viewing
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When the body needs to be repatriated
Natural Care
Natural care is suitable for situations where the family wishes to have the loved one at home for a short time or to have them in the care of the funeral home.
It is a non-invasive technique and consists of keeping the body cool using special ice packs or in cool facilities.
This may be a good option for direct cremation services.
Regardless of family choice for embalming or natural care, once your loved one is under Distinct's care, we will clean, dress, and place them in the casket.
We encourage the family to participate actively in washing and dressing the deceased.
This modest act is a good opportunity to spend time with your loved one and has a significant benefit in aiding the healing process.
Venue
The choice is up to the individual.
If you are not a member of a church, you may like to have a service at an independent chapel, sports club, outdoor location, at home, at the cemetery (graveside) or crematorium chapel.
Invercargill offers a good number of options, from private and small funerals to massive ones. Distinct Funeral Service can organise the right one for your needs.
Clergy or Celebrant
Clergy or Celebrants often lead funeral services.
If you are a Church member you might ask for your minister, or priest to lead your loved one's service.
Family members or good friends might also be the service's MC if they feel comfortable doing so.
Distinct Funeral Service can help find a celebrant that suits you.
Eulogy
If you or a family friend are considering being the funeral's MC you might find the points below of assistance to write the Eulogy.
A good way to prepare the Eulogy is following chronological events such as:
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When and where was the deceased born
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Nicknames
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Parents, brothers, and sisters name
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Early childhood
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Schools attended
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Academic/qualifications achievements
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Interesting family stories
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Military service
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Sport achievements
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Hobbies, interests, travels, crafts, etc
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Relationships, marriages
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Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren
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Preferences, eg: food, cars, flowers, movies, music. etc
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Career achievements
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Special stories showing the deceased qualities, morals, ideas, and humour is important
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Special readings, music, poetry, hymns
Our team can offer advice during the writing of the eulogy.
Products
Distinct funerals understand that everyone is unique.
This understanding drives us to a high level of excellence in personalisation.
As a way to celebrate the life of your loved one, Distinct offers products that can make your tribute much more personalised and unique.
You can choose the theme that best represents your loved one such as hunting, fishing, gardening, sports, etc. We can then reproduce it across all products.
Your family can choose exclusive:
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Caskets
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Ashes caskets
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Scatter tubes
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Service sheets
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Memorial books
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Bookmarks
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Reserved seat signs
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Video presentation & Streaming
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Fingerprint tree
Nearly every aspect of the funeral can be customised to suit your needs.
Monumental Masonry
Distinct Funerals' core values are to have transparency, reliability and the desire to provide the best funeral service in Invercargill.
It is important to have strong and reliable partnerships with companies that share the same values.
We recommend MAIDEN STONE services for your loved one's gravestone and monumental work.
Picture Caskets
Distinct is proud to directly supply New Zealand's highest quality Picture Caskets
These are a great way to showcase the personality and life of your loved one and can be fully customised.
Visit picturecaskets.co.nz for more information.
Family notice
Inserting a death notice in the newspaper is a good way to inform friends and family about someone's death.
We can help your family to organise a notice in any New Zealand newspaper in a physical or digital format. Some companies offer this service for free in their digital versions.
Distinct Funerals offer the families our obituary section to insert a family notice.
Customised Service
Distinct Funerals offer a completely customised experience for your loved one, designed around your budget. If something you want is not listed above, our team will strive to make it a reality.
Contact us to discuss your service options. We are here for you at this time.