Double funeral streamed overseas
Annette and Bill Buckland had been together for 20,000 days before they died.
She died on Monday; he died the following Sunday.
Together for 55 years, apart for only six days – it was tragic but appropriate.
‘‘They were a couple for a long, long time, and they left together,’’ son Ross Buckland said.
It had been a whirlwind fortnight for the family. Bill had a terminal illness, so they expected his death. They did not think Annette, who was 75 and Bill’s carer, would die before him.
‘‘We knew his was coming. My mother, who we thought was fit and healthy, jumped the gun and left before he did.
‘‘It all seems quite surreal at this stage. We’re almost thinking, did that really happen?’’
On Wednesday, they held a joint funeral at Academy Funeral Services in Upper Riccarton.
Several hundred watched as two coffins were placed into two hearses, two lives farewelled down the road together.
‘‘In a roundabout way, as funny as it sounds, it worked out quite nicely. We were able to have a nice service for them as a couple and send them on down the road in a pair of hearses.’’
Despite the big turnout, some faces were not there to say goodbye.
Bill’s sister, who lives in Melbourne, could not attend. One cousin was on an adventure holiday in the Arctic circle. Another family member was in Pukekohe, south of Auckland.
To ensure they did not miss out, the family did something simple: they took the funeral to them.
Like an increasing number of families, they live-streamed the event, using recording equipment installed in the chapel. It was a nofrills broadcast, run through a professional streaming service and accessible through codes given to the family members.
Wayne Lyons, manager of Academy Funeral Services, said live-streaming had become increasingly popular since being introduced about 18 months ago.
‘‘It’s normally [used] because there are relatives or friends who can’t attend the funeral,’’ he said.
‘‘It gives them the opportunity to participate. In this day and age, where people are at work or held up with flights and can’t make it, it’s very convenient.’’
Funeral directors throughout Christchurch now use the once-rare service as a matter of course.
A spokesman from Lamb and Hayward Funeral Directors said it remained a small part of the business, but would almost certainly get bigger as the elderly became tech-savvy.
For Buckland, live-streaming gave his entire family – including his cousin in the Arctic – the chance to be with them in the chapel to celebrate his parents’ 20,000 days together.
‘‘We didn’t want to turn it into a full-on spectacular . . . It was a good way to get together. It did what we wanted it to do.’’