ROSA WOODS/STUFF Jerry Waddington and Cassie Murphy, who both work at Gee & Hickton, are part of a new breed of young funeral directors. They're "lifting the taboo that has typically been around the funeral industry", says Waddington. Waddington doesn't have a qualification in the funeral industry (Weltec offers a Diploma in Funeral Directing, but it's not required to fulfil the job). Her interest in funeral directing, she'll tell the students today, came about through her experience dealing with the funeral industry when her step-father died a few years ago. "It is more normal to talk about funerals and be involved in funerals," Waddington says.

Source: Stuff July 20, 2019 17:01 UTC