John Gwillim

National Diploma in Funeral Directing

I was born in Auckland and have had a diverse career.I first trained as a Chef at the then Auckland Technical Institute in the late 70s. After 10 years in that profession and travelling overseas, I then trained as an Audio and Video Producer in Melbourne Australia. After returning to NZ, I worked for TVNZ as a news cameraman in Northland before working for the Ministry of Education in Wellington making audio and video programmes for schools. After moving back to Whangarei in 2002 with my wife Tanya and children Hannah and Jack, I started a small video production business and launched Channel North TV with other members of the local production community. During this time I also began video taping funeral services, which then led to me moving over to funeral directing and embalming in 2009. I feel very privileged to be able to help families at times of great loss and enjoy helping them celebrate the lives of their loved ones.