Meet the people behind Aussie funeral homes including the man who buried Don Bradman
From burying people in cardboard boxes to laying Australia’s top cricketer to rest, 10 Aussies share the surprising reasons they joined the funeral industry.
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While most of us only experience funerals during moments of loss, for these South Australians farewelling the dead is a daily part of their lives.
From organising the last rites to offering a shoulder to the grieving, their roles often misunderstood role are vital amid the darkest days of others.
Across funeral homes from Mount Barker to Naracoorte and throughout the city, dedicated funeral home directors ensure families can reach them 24/7 and their loved ones are given a fitting farewell.
These are the people behind the 10 SA funeral homes and their stories.
Deb Griffiths
Business: Down to Earth Funerals
Location: Old Reynella
Role: Owner and funeral director
There are no chemicals, traditional coffins or invasive methods used in Deb Griffiths’ eco-friendly funeral home.
The Old Reynella woman sold her home during the pandemic to start Down to Earth Funerals where she buries people in cardboard, wicker or a shroud.
For the single mum of two and funeral director “death is a part of life” but she said the job was not without challenges.
“The most challenging aspect of my job is when a death is particularly tragic, like a baby or a small child, especially being a mother myself, I can imagine the pain that they’re going through,” Ms Griffiths said.
“I try to remember it’s other people’s sorrow and not mine so do not take that on too much because it can affect you for sure.”
Ms Griffiths, 50, said the Australian funeral industry was gradually changing with people looking for more natural and simple ways of handling their loved ones after death.
She has returned to older traditions like washing and dressing the body without chemicals often used to brighten skin or invasive methods to preserve the body.
There’s also a cooling bed which allows families to host a funeral at home.
“I was really interested in it, because it’s a return to older traditions,” she said.
“So just washing and dressing the body simply like the olden times, no chemicals, in an earth friendly way.”
With six years experience, the former yoga teacher said it was a fellow yogi who sparked her interest in death and the industry.
“My yoga teacher said that humans have two main fears: the fear of pain and the fear of death. If you can remove that fear, then you’re closer to enlightenment,” she said.
“Then my dad died and I organised and performed his funeral and I thought that if I could do my dad’s funeral then I can do anybody’s funeral.
“It’s my calling so it feels like I’m in the right place, and it’s the best, the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Rodney Van Den Brink
Business: Signature Funerals
Location: Enfield
Role: Owner
It was a friend’s murder that led to Rodney Van Den Brink’s unexpected entry into the funeral industry.
“After a friend’s tragic passing due to homicide, their family asked me to handle their funeral,” Mr Van Den Brink said.
“It was a privilege and satisfying experience for me because I was able to do that for my friend.”
That request set the Parra Hills man on a path to establish Signature Funerals and 18 years later he’s still at it.
In his day-to-day life, Mr Van Den Brink often faces unique challenges, from determining the right coffin size to navigating scheduling constraints when the coroner is involved.
“Coroners are always busy, because of many unnatural deaths or not yet been determined deaths,” he said.
But for the 57 year old the work goes beyond logistics.
“You’re helping someone very vulnerable — the deceased. You need to be detailed, creative, and genuinely care,” he said.
“In the end, it’s a very rewarding experience to hear families that were very satisfied and very happy with the services that you provided.”
His work in the industry has shaped Mr Van Den Brink’s view on life.
“I value every moment more now,” he said.
“I suppose ultimately you become a better person by nature in my field and you appreciate everything.”
Daniel Rowett
Business: County Road Funeral Homes
Location: Pooraka, Gawler South and Eudunda
Role: Funeral director
As a farmer running his family farm, working in a funeral home was not in Daniel Rowett’s game plan.
Now he’s among the state’s youngest funeral home owners after spotting an opportunity to make funerals more affordable.
“I don’t believe that there’s something that many kids would want to delve into,” he said.
Mr Rowett said got joy out of helping families but finds it challenging to deal with the funerals of young people and children.
“Anyone under 18 in particular, that’s where I still struggle a little bit”
The 34 year old said often people assumed funerals had to done in a “certain way and in a certain manner” but “there is no legality surrounding how you celebrate someone’s life.”
David Lloyd
Business: Blackwell Funerals
Location: Adelaide
Role: Master funeral director
David Lloyd never expected to have a career in funerals, nevermind be responsible for laying Sir Don Bradman or Lady Jessie Bradman, to rest.
“I was a volunteer ambulance officer for nearly seven years before a friend, a funeral director, rang me in 1985for a job, and that’s how it all started,” Mr Llyod said.
For the 75-year-old, the role of the master funeral director involves a lot of unseen tasks, from handling paperwork for death registrations to sending accuratedeath notices in the paper.
“An error in a notice is the worst thing,” he said.
After four decades in the job Mr Lloyd said if a death was sudden, unexplained or happened on SA’s roads in become a case for the coroner
“That’s extra work for me right there,” he said.
Graham Rosemane
Business: Rosemane Funerals
Location: Goolwa and Old Noarlunga
Role: Co-owner and funeral director
After beginning his funeral work in Cornwall in England in a family business, Graham Rosemane arrived in Adelaide where he continued the trade.
The 58 year old said the industry had taught him “incredible life lessons.”
“It makes you live every day as if it‘s your last,” Mr Rosemane said.
“For more than four decades, it’s been more than a job. I am always on call 24/7.”
For Mr Rosemane, it not just about handling the deceased, it is about helping families.
“The major part of the business is in the arrangement of the funerals and looking after the people who are left behind,” he said.
“Despite the challenges, it feels rewarding when families say everything was just as they wanted.”
Jo-Anne Callaghan
Business: Wattle Range Funerals
Location: Naracoorte and Millicent
Role: Funeral director
After a friend died of cancer Jo-Anne Callaghan granted her final wish – acting as celebrant at the funeral.
“And then I kept getting more requests to be celebrants at funerals,” Ms Callaghan, 60, said.
“Then I got to the point where the people that owned the funeral home asked me to come and work for them.”
Fast forward seven years and there is no typical day for the Wattle Range Funerals director.
While the Naracoorte woman’s daily tasks might seem unusual to many, like seeing a dead body, for her, it is just a part of the job.
“Every day is different, and no two funerals are the same,” Ms Callaghan said.
Ms Callaghan said what once a male dominated space had changed over the years.
“Nowadays there are more women working in the industry with more empathy and sense of humour,” she said.
Robert Mattiske
Business: Mattiske Funerals
Location: Salisbury and Para Vista
Role: Managing director
Robert Mattiske was a high school teacher for 10 years before he pivoted and joined his family’s funeral home almost four decades ago.
“I thought the funeral industry would be easy. Just stand there, look good, and hand out cards, but the reality was far from it,” Mr Mattiske said.
“As a high school teacher there was a great deal of pressure and I thought funeral industry would bring less pressure.”
Instead Mr Mattiske found his new career equally if not more mentally challenging.
The business does over 500 funerals a year and the 72 year old practices daily meditation, a habit he also encourages for his staff, to help with mental and emotional demands.
“It’s quite difficult, most people can have the weekend off and work nine to five jobs. Certainly is not us,” he said.
“My typical day can be anything from quiet to absolutely challenging to chaos.”
Andrew Kleemann
Business: Kleemann Funerals
Location: Mount Barker and Lobethal
Role: Funeral director
At 10 Andrew Kleemann began answering the phones at his family’s fifth generation funeral home and talking to families during their toughest moments.
“I learned very early how to help people when someone’s died,” Mr Kleemann, who is now director, said.
“I was thrown in. It was sink or swim for me.
“And I learned very early about compassion, empathy, and reassurance with people.”
For the Hahndorf man, being around deceased bodies and grieving people is a part of his regular day.
In a profession many would find daunting, he finds a daily reminder of life’s fragility.
“I am trained to console and help people during their difficult times, which is not normal for ordinary people,” he said.
“I just view life as making the most of every day because I know what can happen. I’m thankful for every day I get.”
Mr Kleemann considers live streaming to be one of the biggest changes in his five decades in the industry.
“Before Covid, everyone used to hop in their cars or their aeroplanes and get to a funeral to attend a friend or family‘s members’ funeral. It’s totally different now,” he said.
Deanne Edwards
Business: Embrace Funerals
Location: Saint Marys
Role: Owner, principal funeral director
Deanne Edwards spent two decades crafting funeral flowers before discovering her real passion.
“I loved going to funerals for flowers and never wanted to leave. I’d stick around, see what was going on,” Ms Edwards said.
“And then I had an opportunity to start out asdriver, the rest is history.”
Stepping away from the “impersonal” nature of large corporations, Ms Edwards started her funeral home on a foundation of “genuine empathy and understanding”.
“It’s not about you. It’s about those families and what they want,” she said.
“You also need to be available, genuinely available 24 hours a day when they need you and they want you on the other end of the phone.”
The 53 year old St Marys woman said most people did not realise the meticulous behind-the-scenes efforts that go into funeral directors.
But she described working in the funeral industry was a “genuine privilege”.
“From obtaining doctor certificates, organising videos, photos, and flowers, to ensuring that every entity involved is in sync, she said.
“A lot of people ask me if I’m sad a lot. I’m actually quite the opposite. I’m probably the happiest person I know.”
Michael Butler
Business: Ivan Butler Family Funeral Directors
Location: Klemzig
Role: Managing director
Michael Butler was just 10 when his father Ivan started the business in the mid-70s and is continuing the family funeral business legacy.
“I just love what I do. I love helping people through a really difficult time of their life, it’s a privilege and I work in such a privileged industry,” Mr Bulter said.
The Klemzig man said there was more to the process than meets the eye.
“From the time we get informed from a family about their loved one’s passing to the time we conduct the funeral, it can be a week or even longer,” he said.
“People don’t generally fully appreciate what goes on behind the scenes.
“It can be anything from the time bringing someone’s loved one into our care to the time we do the funeral.”
Mr Butler said earning families’ trust quickly was crucial.
“We only get one chance. If we don’t do it right, we might lose that family’s trust forever,” he said.
But while he takes pride in upholding high standard he said the industry lacked regulation.
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