A Tauranga funeral director is flipping the script on how we think about legacy by capturing stories before the final chapter.

Don Hoult from Legacy Funerals has launched a podcast dedicated, not to those who have passed, but to the living, preserving real-life stories of everyday people for future generations.

Working alongside experienced broadcaster and videographer Mark Fruish, who has spent years filming funerals, the pair have seen first-hand how much of a person’s story is often left untold.

Inspired by the award-winning Rosebud Podcast, produced by Gyles Brandreth in the United Kingdom, Hoult saw an opportunity to bring storytelling into his everyday work, aligning with Legacy Funerals’ philosophy of “keeping the story alive”.

He has created a simple but powerful format, whereby each guest is asked the same carefully crafted questions, designed to draw out the experiences, memories, and perspectives that make up our lives.

The result is a growing library of recorded oral histories, turning ordinary conversations into extraordinary treasures that families can keep and pass down for generations to come.

“Everyone has a story worth telling,” Holt said.

“What I find time and time again in my line of work is just how little people know about their parents’ early lives, or the generations before them.”

Some of the first stories Hoult and Fruish have brought to life are the stories of Greg Brownless, who gifted his funeral home to Legacy Trust back in the early 2000s, and Sue Denham, who was our first Mrs New Zealand back in 1985.

The podcast is already becoming a meaningful extension of pre-planning funerals, giving people the chance to shape how they’re remembered in their own words.

People can access the stories here: https://www.legacyfunerals.co.nz/stories