Gee & Hickton (Lower Hutt)

I cannot recommend Gee & Hickton enough, particularly Liz. I have been fortunate enough to have had the most amazing support, care, attention to detail and professionalism from Liz with two funerals within our whānau. Each time, we have felt guided on next steps and always had wants and wishes respected. Most importantly, the care and respect Liz showed to our loves ones who had passed was incredible, and she truly made a positive impact during our grieving journey.

Thank you to the team at Gee & Hickton for helping us arrange a lovely burial service for Dad. Our funeral director was supportive and helpful, with every detail planned well, along with all the other staff we met. We will most definitely use Gee & Hickton to help us with our next family funeral. Thank you for being so good at such a difficult time; it is appreciated.

If it is guidance and empathy you are looking for, at the one place you should recieve it during your time of grief. Then I would not recommend going to see Liz at Gee & Hickton. We were left shocked at the interaction we had with Liz, when meeting her shortly after the death of our family member. I do not like to leave negative reviews, however if I can save somebody from further upset at their time of need. Then please, ask for somebody else. Or better still, go to Harbour City, where you will recieve the utmost warmth, genuine care, and respect.

Funerals today offer the chance to say goodbye in a way that feels personal and right. Our mum, Eileen was 94, and we wanted to celebrate a life well-lived in a way that truly reflected her spirit. When we met with funeral director, Liz Pereira, she welcomed every idea we brought to the table, offering guidance without judgment and always making space for what felt right to us. She was completely respectful, genuine, and pragmatic. Even in the sadness of the moment, she understood us as a family—how we found comfort in a bit of lightness and laughter while preparing to say goodbye to Mum. Her enthusiasm for our ideas was supportive and encouraging. She was completely professional, yet delightfully game when we asked if she’d be willing to sashay down the aisle to Herb Alpert’s Casino Royale. And sashay she did. It was the perfect blend of dignity and mischief—just as Mum would have wanted. That sashay, set to Casino Royale, captured the joy, flair, and love that carried her through 94 remarkable years, and carried us through that day, as did playing, at the request of one of the grandchildren “Come-on Eileen” as we took mum into the crematorium for her final farewell. While Liz was our main contact at Gee & Hickton, all the staff we dealt with were respectful, kind and helpful at a sad time in our lives. Family of Eileen Dalgety.

I want to thank the team at Gee & Hickton for the beautiful overall ceremony. We appreciated the helpfulness and patience throughout the process from the team, especially Philly and Nigel. The chapel, the venue, and the lovely, private rooms provided for visiting Dad whenever we wished were also greatly appreciated and provided immense comfort to our family. While the end result was beautiful, we found the process incredibly challenging. The sheer volume of information to absorb, combined with numerous decisions and tasks required within a compressed timeframe while dealing with profound grief, proved overwhelming. I feel there are definite improvements that could be made to the process to help support families better during this time and ensure the finer details are not missed.