Dying in style

'We are, on the whole, shy of looking death in the eye.”

A timely observation from a man who was staring down his own mortality two weeks ago –Sir Terry Pratchett, a fantasist author, who died from early onset dementia aged 66.


David McKibbin, Janet Ormsby and Catherine McKibbin marvel at a bespoke coffin.

'But we're getting better at it,” says Tauranga's David McKibbin.

He hopes so. He's punting on it. He has three custom wood coffins propped up in his workshop waiting for people on this side of the afterlife, but is comfortable with the concept of the other side.

'Bespoke coffins,” David calls them – a blank canvas of death which living souls can transform into a celebration of their lives before they pop their clogs.

'We want to demystify death – unspook it,” says David.

And he wants to make dying affordable. His coffins will cost $300 compared to the other cheap alternative – hiring one with a cardboard liner costs about $500.

It was the suggestion of a pastor, who was railing against the cost of dying.

So now this Omanawa cabinetmaker is dealing in 'above” furniture while dabbling in 'below” furniture. And that just might inspire a name for the new venture.

'Paint it, don't paint it, sign it – whatever,” says David's wife Catherine.

'Put photos on it, handprints, put a window in it – just personalise it,” she says.

'Make it a reflection of who you are, what you are and where you have been.”

And while David makes the caskets, Catherine will be holding Wednesday workshops for people to express themselves in readiness for the inevitable.

They can decorate, have a cup of tea, drink coffee and talk grim, dark things in a peaceful, uplifting, supportive rural setting.

'My research tells me flowers are popular,” she adds. 'Many caskets reflect where people have lived.

'Beaches scenes, piano keys on the lid, dolphins, sports and a paint finish on which people can leave messages.”

Catherine's favourite was a coffin covered with embossed wallpaper and gold handles. 'It looked magnificent,” she says, 'and very simple really.”

But she also knew a young woman who designed her own purple casket with yellow flowers and a Maori woman, who had a coffin adorned with paua shells.

'The coffins were a true reflection of their lives – nice and personal,” says Catherine. 'That's exactly what they wanted and that was them.”

Death and taxes – two things in life that are inevitable. 'But this isn't all about death,” she explains.

'People can use their coffins as coffee tables, wine racks and book cases.

'But of course they will have an ultimate purpose.”

Catherine's brother-in-law was a modest man who, before he died, insisted on a modest coffin. 'And what did my sister do?” asks Catherine. 'She spent $2500 on a coffin.”

This man was of the land and did that shiny coffin reflect who and what he was? 'No way!” is her answer.

And why did she do that when he wanted a plain one? 'Well it made her feel better and she thought was doing the right thing by him. She didn't want to cheapen his memory.”

Now Catherine's sister has said the same thing to her children. 'Give me a plain one with a cardboard insert. But the kids will go spend another $2500.”

Catherine believes if her sister buys and decorates her own coffin, the decision would be taken away from the children.

'It will stop families feeling obligated to do what they think is the best thing,” she says, 'which is always the most expensive thing.”

It's a new slant on an old idea. There used to be a coffin club in Tauranga but those caskets were made by handymen.

These coffins will be professionally made, and after that, the choice is in the hands of the living.

There's an open day at the McKibbin's home and workshop at 558 Omanawa Rd, Lower Kaimai, on Sunday, April 5. The first workshop will be the following Wednesday.

Isn't this all a bit macabre, a bit dark? 'No,” say David and Catherine. 'It's just preparing for another phase; the final phase of the life cycle.”

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