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A huge renovation project for a Papakura funeral home is finally complete.
Fountains Funerals and Monuments manager Wendy Bygrave said the business has been part of the South Auckland community since it was founded by Lambert and Tresnor Fountain in the early 1960s.
The original site was on Station Road, Papakura, before moving to Great South Road, where Lambert Fountain died in 1984.
Tresnor then moved to the current Elliott and Wood Street premises, making extensive
alterations to transform the building into a funeral home.
“Tresnor opened this site in 1990 … but time does what it does, and it needed some TLC. It now has some absolute class. We’ve kept the bones of the building, although it was a real debate whether or not we would bowl it.”
The multi-million dollar revamp took the better part of the past two years.
“We have a small branch in Pukekohe, so we were based there during the renovations and did everything we could. We visited our clients instead of making them come to us.
“Asbestos held us up. When we started pulling it apart, there was more asbestos in here, which added to the cost and delayed proceedings.”
The finished building was absolutely worth the wait, she said.
They moved back into the Papakura building in May, with a formal opening held on May 28.
The site also includes a mortuary.
“Bella our cat is extremely well-known here in Papakura. But she has retired to our Pukekohe branch. She’s about 17 years old and has attended most funerals.”
Bella wandered into the funeral home as a young cat many years ago, moving to Pukekohe while the renovation project was underway.
Bygrave said Fountains Funerals and Monuments will hold an open day for the community in the next few months.
