About us

Stu Print and Mary Little first met as funeral directors in 2022, quickly forming a dynamic partnership. Our meeting of minds and values inspired the founding of Wellington City Funerals in 2026. It’s our shared dream to provide high-quality funeral services for our community, at a fair price. We’re thrilled to be part of the gorgeous Thorndon Village and to weave ourselves into the heritage of Pipitea.

Locally Owned

We’re the only funeral home in Wellington City that’s owned and run by people who live in Wellington City. Read more in our blog Does Being Locally Owned Matter?

Fairly Priced

We don’t have the shareholder profit targets that corporate-owned Funeral Homes have, and because we’re small we don’t have to cover the same kinds of overheads. Read more on our Costs page.

Beautifully Crafted

We believe every farewell should feel personal, dignified and meaningful. That could mean honouring long-held religious and/or cultural traditions, or creating something entirely unique to your family. By asking the right questions and taking the time to really think things through, we can help you create a farewell that truly fits—something that supports the grieving process and feels right for the people who matter most.

Before moving into the funeral world, Stu was a Minister in the Baptist Church and, before that, a share-milker. His funeral career begin in April 2018. He loves to put his practical skills and varied life experience to work helping people who need it. He lives in Thorndon with his wife Michelle. Their kids are grown up now, pursuing their dreams in Wellington and Auckland. Stu is partial to a kōrero over a craft beer or a drop of whisky, loves rugby (well, all sport really) and is deeply dedicated to the Philadelphia Eagles – ‘Go Birds’.

Half a lifetime ago, Mary moved to Wellington from her home town of Ōtepoti Dunedin. She spent over a decade in digital communications for NGOs and Government agencies, then changed pathways to find fulfilment in helping families through their darkest times. Her funeral career began in January 2022. She lives in Mt Cook with her partner Matt and their cat, Leo. She performs spontaneous theatre and writes short stories, and can often be found with an earbud in one ear, listening to podcasts back-to-back.

Our premises at 352 Tinakori Road are small but beautifully formed. We have a “front room” where we do our office work, meet families and host viewings. We have space for about seven people comfortably, so while small family gatherings are welcome, we can’t accommodate a full service.

We aren’t always open during business hours, as this allows us to be flexible with our work. If you’re curious and would like to see our space, please give us a call to make an appointment, or drop by and see if we happen to be in.

Do you have a crematorium?
No.

Do you have a mortuary?
No. We have a back room with all required health licensing, where we provide care of body. (What’s care of body?) For embalming (which involves controlled chemicals), we engage an embalmer using an off-site mortuary.

Do you have parking?
We’ve got two spots out front for family cars. There’s more free (though time-limited) parking up Tinakori Road opposite the Botanics. If you’re coming for a viewing or another appointment, we’ll chat about parking to ensure you get the access you need.

Can people see into the front room from the street?
No. We’ve got a layer of opaque white curtains and a room screen to provide privacy, along with another room divider we can use, and a blind that lowers over the front door.

I see a kettle. Should you have food and drink in that front room?
In respect to Tikanga Māori we wouldn’t have food and drink in a room where there’s a deceased person present. Once a viewing is over, and our tūpāpaku is returned to the back room, we use a karakia whakanoa to remove the tapu from the front room. We do our best to make all families from any cultural background feel comfortable, welcome and safe in our space, so if there’s a particular practice that would help with this, please let us know.

I saw a dog on your Instagram. Tell me about him.
Rocky belongs to Stu and his wife Michelle. Rocky’s a Blue Heeler/Border Collie cross. He’s a gorgeous boy who takes a while to warm up to new people (pats under the chin, not over the head, please!). Rocky visits the office from time to time, but if you’re not a dog person don’t worry, he’s always happy to go home to his basket. (And if you have any allergies, please just let us know and we’ll be sure to double-vaccuum!)