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Not everyone is suited for the role of funeral director.
It requires someone with a blend of emotional resilience, compassion and a commitment to help others through their most difficult moments.
It’s exactly why Adrian Catran of Twentymans Funeral Directors has been in the business since 1990.
The best part about it all for Adrian was being able to support families through their grieving processes and help create a fitting farewell for their loved ones, the local legend told The Profile.
Not only was Twentymans the longest serving funeral home in New Zealand, Adrian also believed he was the oldest funeral director still directing funerals in the country, he said.
It should come as no surprise the director and his team of eight were on call for people and families to get in touch 24/7. Even though Adrian’s journey at Twentymans started in 1990 when he joined part-time as a funeral director, the business itself was started in November, 1867, by William Twentyman under the name W Twentyman – Builder & Undertaker, located in Owen St, Thames. “They moved into what you would term the centre of Grahamstown, or where the shops are in Grahamstown, in 1880,” Adrian said. They then moved to 709 Pollen St circa 1896 to their newly built home and office. “And that family home now is the main office for Twentymans Funeral Services.”
The business was sold on March 31, 1990, to two funeral directors in Tauranga, Adrian said. In 1993, Adrian bought a half-share in Twentymans, then a few years later in 1996 he bought his partner out and became the sole owner of the business, he said.
When Adrian purchased the business, he realised he needed a few things. “One was a chapel, one was a catering lounge, and one was a crematorium. So I set about over the next three decades to achieve those things, and I’ve done that now.”
A chapel was built on site, and alongside that he modernised a building for a function centre called Thames on Kirkwood and had it developed into a catering lounge.
It meant people could have their service for their loved one in the chapel, head outside and accompany the casket to the hearse. From there, the hearse would head to the cemetery for a burial or across to the crematorium for a cremation.
Having the crematorium on-site means people could just walk down to the catering lounge which adjoins the chapel side-by-side, he said – people only had around 30 metres to walk and then “they’re having a cup of tea”.
The undertaker said the cup of tea after the funeral was the first part of the healing process.
“That’s when they laugh and cry with people and reminisce about their loved one who’s passed.
“It’s part of the grieving process.”
One of the biggest changes to Twentymans was the on-site crematorium, he said. It lifted the number of funerals held at Twentymans from an average of around 285 a year to just more than 400 a year. “We’re just a funeral short of 2000 cremations since the year 2000.” While some people might find Adrian’s line of work tricky, it’s second nature to him. “Death was something that doesn’t worry me, it doesn’t cause me sleepless nights.
“Since I’ve been involved with Twentymans, we have processed over 10,000 deaths,” he said.
If that is multiplied by the average of four people for a funeral arrangement, that’s 40,000 people Twentymans has dealt with in that period of time, he said.
Even though Adrian said he couldn’t say 40,000 names off by heart, he remembered different people he officiated for by their occupations. And when it came to occupation titles, Adrian preferred to be known as something else other than a funeral director.
“I quite like the term undertaker, because that means I undertake to do the things for the families that they need done. I prefer to be known as an undertaker rather than a funeral director.”
His care and facilities included more than just people too.
“I take my beagles into the chapel for the funerals because people love dogs.”
He said the beagles would be a comfort or distraction that helped take the edge off.
Twentymans also caters for a family’s beloved pets, with a pet crematorium in one half of the building, and a human crematorium in the other half, he said.
Adrian said he didn’t know of any other place in the southern hemisphere that offered both services under one roof.
But the best thing on the website according to Adrian was the drone footage of Twentymans.
“No other funeral home has got drone footage like we’ve got.
“So anybody who doesn’t understand funeral homes or whatever, can look at that drone footage and you’ll get an understanding.”
The main thing for Adrian though was that he felt quite proud to be the undertaker for the community.
DETAILS: To view the drone footage of Twentymans Funeral Directors visit: www.twentymans.co.nz/about/ and scroll to the bottom.
– By Davidda Hikatangata
