Why Rest Exists
“Rest didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with losing my mum.”
People often ask why I started a funeral business.
The answer isn’t because I always wanted to work in the funeral industry.
I didn’t.
Rest was born from one of the hardest experiences of my life… the death of my mum.
Mum was what you’d call a pocket rocket. She was small in stature, but she filled every room she walked into. She loved life, loved cooking and had a remarkable way of making ordinary moments feel special. Whether it was with her children or her grandchildren, she made people feel like they mattered. Given the right opportunity, she probably would have spent her life on the stage. In fact, she once did exactly that in a parents’ performance at one of the kids’ schools, and she absolutely loved it.
When she died, our family found ourselves in a world we’d never really seen before.
Like most people, we didn’t know what we didn’t know.
We were suddenly making decisions about funerals, paperwork, costs and what was supposedly “allowed”. Looking back, it wasn’t the grief that frustrated me most, it was discovering how many choices existed and how few people knew about them.
I kept coming back to one simple question.
Surely there has to be a better way.
Not a cheaper way for the sake of being cheap.
Not a less caring way.
A way that gave families clear information, honest guidance and the confidence to make decisions that felt right for them.
That simple question became Rest.
Over the past four and a half years we’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of families across the Southern Downs and beyond. Every family has reminded us that there is no single “right” way to say goodbye.
Some people want a traditional funeral.
Others want something quiet and simple.
Some gather around a Daisybox, covering it with handwritten messages, children’s artwork and photographs. Others choose a private farewell with only those closest to them.
For some, it’s nothing at all.
Every farewell is personal because every life is different.
One thing we’ve learned is that many of the “rules” people believe exist… simply don’t.
It still happens today.
Not long ago, a young family lost their baby. They were told they couldn’t take their baby home so brothers and sisters could meet the newest member of their family and say goodbye together.
The heartbreaking part is that, in Queensland, families often do have options like this.
Sometimes the greatest barrier isn’t the law. It’s simply that people don’t realise what’s possible.
Moments like these have shaped the way we think.
They’ve even inspired new ideas, including developing Kühlbod, a simple cooling system designed to help families spend more time with someone they love in the comfort of home when that’s what they choose.
Because sometimes what a family needs most isn’t another product.
Our role has never been to tell families what kind of funeral they should have.
It’s to explain their options honestly, support their decisions and help them create a farewell that reflects the person they’re remembering.
We’re incredibly grateful that most of our growth has come through local people recommending Rest to their family, friends and neighbours.
There is no greater compliment than hearing someone say,
“A friend told us to call you.”
As we look ahead, our purpose hasn’t changed from the day Rest began.
We still believe families deserve clear information instead of confusion.
We still believe people should know the choices available to them.
And we still believe that kindness, honesty and time are some of the greatest gifts we can offer.
Every funeral we’ve arranged over the past four and a half years has reminded me why Rest began in the first place.
It began with one family.
Mine.
If the experience of losing Mum has helped another family feel a little less overwhelmed, a little more informed or simply given them the confidence to say goodbye in a way that feels right for them, then something good has come from one of the hardest chapters of my life.
I think Mum would have liked that.