About Aroha Funerals

Janet Mikkelsen

Janet Mikkelsen has been a funeral director for 7 years. Prior to that she was a nurse for 30 years – in paediatric oncology and paediatric palliative care. She credits her nursing background with helping her develop many of the skills she uses now – feeling comfortable around death and dying, supporting families at a difficult time, working with families of many different cultures and beliefs, and being honest in a kind and gentle way. The aspects of this work that she loves is the challenge of getting to know lots of different kinds of people in a short space of time, helping people work out the best way to say farewell to their family member, and working with a wonderful and supportive team.

Janet has three adult children, belongs to the Stonefields choir, does Scottish country dancing, and loves reading and ocean swimming.

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Rachel Nash

Rachel has been a funeral director since 2009.

She feels very privileged to be in a position where she is able to be alongside families at a time that can be emotional and challenging. She finds enormous joy in helping people find the way that they want to celebrate life.

Rachel has also had a career in the performing arts, working extensively as an actor in Theatre, Education, Film and TV.

She is very happy and proud to be part of such a vibrant and supportive team at Aroha Funerals.

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Robyn Watson

Robyn has been a Funeral Director for 3 years. Also a registered nurse, she specialised in surgical services, including providing education and counselling for patients and families who have experienced grief and loss of body image from surgery.

Robyn believes that at Aroha Funerals we are entrusted with two precious things – a loved one, and the chance to help their family begin to heal. She also understands that no single approach is right for every family. A funeral is unlike any other event; it has to encapsulate so much in such a short period of time to honour our loved ones in a way that reflects who they were in life. She feels very privileged to be a part of the Aroha team and the ethos that underpins what we offer to families.

Robyn is a keen sportswoman and enjoys running and participating in various events throughout NZ. Alongside her husband, they are kept busy with two adult children as well as developing their lifestyle property.

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Lucy Pierpoint

A long time friend of Janet and Gillian, Lucy has been a keen supporter,  and occasional funeral assistant for us. She  has now happily come on board as a funeral director as she loves being able to support families and friends to navigate a meaningful celebration of life for their loved ones.

She has had a career in sustainability consulting  and appreciates the approach taken by Aroha to minimise impact and stress with the emphasis on compassion and care.

With three adult children, hens and a cat,  in her spare time she swims in the sea and is a keen gardener,  learning about food production within the community and makes jewellery.  She feels blessed to be able to now work in this caring environment.

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Lynda Casey

Lynda has been in the Funeral industry for a number of years. Firstly as a Funeral Assistant, then going on to become the Operations Manager, and is now fully qualified as a Funeral Director. Lynda is an ex veterinary nurse and a pharmacy assistant.

She is happily married with 2 adult children. She and her husband spend their winter weekends running the Marist Eastern rugby club. She enjoys reading, travelling and socialising.

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Meg Dunbar

Meg understands the end-of-life journey is an incredibly private, intimate and emotional time for families, and is an occasion when empathy, understanding and gentle support are paramount. In this context, she considers her position at Aroha a privilege, and will always do what is needed to provide the quiet dignity and gentle guidance required for each family.

Meg started at Aroha in August 2022, after a time away from the workforce raising her family. Prior to that she had a 15-year career with Air New Zealand as an Inflight Service Co-ordinator: and over 15 years of running her own beauty and nail business. She brings a genuine empathy to her role at Aroha, and has always considered herself a ‘people-person’.

When she isn’t at Aroha, Meg enjoys exercising, singing in a community choir, volunteer work for ‘Look Good-Feel Better’ and spending time with friends and family.

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Kathryn Sullivan

Kathryn joins Aroha Funerals after a long tenure within the Ministry of Education, doing 5 years at a Special Needs School and then another 14 years in a mainstream primary school as support staff.

Mum to 3 grown children and proud nana of 1, Kathryn and her husband enjoy time together with the family around and travelling overseas.

The Funeral Industry has been a longtime passion of Kathryn’s and due to a very fortunate opportunity, started working with the Aroha team on a casual basis which lead to a full time position being offered.

Kathryn has an aura around her that is a mix of compassion, empathy and support and loves the opportunity to support the families and friends that are dealing with the sad loss of a loved one.    

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Gillian Craig

Gillian is Janet’s identical twin sister, and has been involved with the business from the start on a part-time basis. She is a qualified accountant, so helped set up all the accounting systems and financial planning decisions. She is proud of how the business has grown, but more importantly is consistently inspired by the funeral directors and how Aroha Funerals care for families at such a vulnerable time.

Until recently she was a senior lecturer in Accounting at AUT, enjoys singing in a community choir and is slowly working towards a BA in History and Education. She is married with 3 adult children.

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Terry Mikkelsen

Terry is Janet and Gillian’s father and he is an integral part of our team. He personally valets our vehicles for every funeral, making sure they are in pristine condition.

Terry is a retired accountant and property developer and has always had a passion for cars. Terry’s family is really important to him, so he jumped at the chance to be involved with his daughter’s business.

He is extremely proud of Janet and the team at Aroha Funerals and feels privileged to be a part of our team. His absolute passions in life are cars and his family.

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Jan Campbell

Jan has been a Physiotherapist with older adults for many years and she has always had an interest with funerals and after-life care.

She has known Janet and Gillian for many years and when she retired she was very keen to be a part of the Aroha team as a Funeral Assistant.

She fills her spare time with family and her wonderful grandchildren who are such a joy in her life. She loves to travel with her husband and has a caravan. She is also a part of a local choir and loves to sing.

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