About us
Wellington City Funerals is based at 352 Tinakori Road. Our office is open by appointment. If you’d like to meet a Funeral Director there, please call 04 399 1299 to make a time.
Meet Mary and Stu
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.
Before moving into the funeral world, Stu was a Minister in the Baptist Church and, before that, a share-milker. 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, before deciding to change pathways and find fulfilment in helping families through their darkest times. 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.
He mahi tahi – teamwork
We have a small team of support staff who step in to help when needed.
With a decade’s funeral experience between us, the Wellington City Funerals team provides a professional, expert service. We’re here to guide you when you need us most.
Our place
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.
FAQs
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.
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.
Our vehicle
Our vehicle is a Mercedes SUV converted to serve two purposes: it’s our transfer vehicle and our hearse.
The “transfer vehicle” is what we use to bring deceased into our care from a hospital, care facility or home. It has a flat, carpeted floor with clips at each end to hold our stretcher in place. When in use as a hearse, we remove the stretcher clips and the casket can glide in smoothly on the rollers set into the floor. Tinted windows ensure discretion and privacy, with the classic styling of the Merc.
If you prefer a more traditional hearse, just let us know, and we can arrange to hire one.