Life Rites Funerals

Life Rites Funerals Life Rites is a team of holistic funeral directors, doulas, celebrants, and counsellors. Victoria Spence and team are holistic funeral directors.

We offer doula-led end of life support, after death care, funeral and ceremonial services. We give you the big picture as well as supporting you with all the details. Ours is a capacity-building practice that gives you the literacy and skills you need to meet your experiences of living and dying. We can be contacted at any point from the onset of serious illness or diagnosis, as well as for sudden, traumatic, or expected death. At Life Rites, we are with you all the way.

A brilliant, absolutely packed and moving tribute to James Valentine at Sydney Town Hall. Kudos to the ABC radio for cre...
30/05/2026

A brilliant, absolutely packed and moving tribute to James Valentine at Sydney Town Hall. Kudos to the ABC radio for creating this memorial, and honouring one of their own so well.

James knew all about being present — holding things lightly, listening deeply and surfing the moments. As an accomplished Jazz musician, James brought that playbook to everything he did and for 25 years, to Sydney listeners on ABC 702 Afternoons.

What James’s life offered to our city was absolutely on show. Joyous, funny and oh so real. What was also evident in the eulogies, tributes and songs was just how much meeting his cancer diagnosis, his illness, his dying and death has, and will continue to, shape our city, our culture and our people.

From leaning in to his mortality, working with a doula, having a Living Wake (on Valentine’s Day of course), to his choice to access Voluntary Assisted Dying, James was always at the leading, innovative and powerful edges of what we know and what we don’t yet have language for. At his memorial, we found that language.

Thank you James. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to walk with you. Brilliant work ABC Radio at putting this memorial together.

You can listen to yesterday’s Celebration of James Valentine’s Life here:
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sydney-afternoons/james-valentine-am-a-celebration-of-life/106738786

🌹❤️

ABC Sydney

27/05/2026

Many people tell us they want to be buried under a tree. In a city, that’s not always possible. Yet!

For now, close to the cycles of nature, we have our botanical shrouds. Dyed on seedy silk by artist , using only what the trees provide. Olivia follows the seasons and the cycles of nature with care. Leaves, seeds, pods. Foraging small amounts from any one place, so the animals and soil get their share too.

The same plant dyes differently depending on the season, tones shifting between cooler and warmer months. These shrouds were made in autumn — Maple, Oak, Eucalyptus and Casuarina leaves, swept to the ground by wind and storm.

Wrapping your person in the textures of the season, from the canopy of the trees to the forest floor, brings softness, intimacy and a return to our senses.

Check out our range of shrouds here: https://www.liferites.com.au/funeral-costs/shrouds

It has been a privilege and honour to care for James Valentine and his family as doulas and as funeral directors. He was...
14/05/2026

It has been a privilege and honour to care for James Valentine and his family as doulas and as funeral directors. He was the authentic, curious and delightful human that all the tributes and outpouring of love reflect. We will certainly be present at this, his public memorial on May 29 at Town Hall. For details visit the 702 ABC Sydney website

See you there ❤️ or listen along with the broadcast of the memorial on 702 ABC

Throw back to this gorgeous moment ~ .endoflifedoula looking cute amongst the stunning abundance of this .au casket cove...
14/05/2026

Throw back to this gorgeous moment ~ .endoflifedoula looking cute amongst the stunning abundance of this .au casket cover arrangement. Pastel dreams 🌸🩵🌼

11/05/2026

It’s International Nurses Day AND National Palliative Care Week! So, naturally, we asked Kim and Pat, our resident nurses at Life Rites, to share their wisdom and their experience. We are so lucky to have their expertise and hands-on experience in our team. Pat and Kim, you are truly dreamy 🪽

A key message from .care.australia this year is that too many folks still think palliative care is only for the very end of life, when in reality it can begin much earlier and sit alongside other treatments

Starting conversations early and asking questions can make all the difference. And the support of a doula alongside palliative care can be truly powerful. Doulas are there to support those important conversations, help you find the right questions to get to the heart of it, and walk beside you every step of the way — a natural complement to the palliative care team 🤍

Here we are at Woronora Heritage Day. We connected with new and familiar faces, sharing our holistic doula-led model of ...
05/05/2026

Here we are at Woronora Heritage Day. We connected with new and familiar faces, sharing our holistic doula-led model of care and practice, as well as our passion for our independent funeral home in Hurstville. Our shrouds, the wicker casket and info on shrouded cremation were of huge interest and sparked much curiosity. Grateful to have been part of this beautiful day with the local Shire community.

Thanks Metropolitan Memorial Parks for a splendid day 🧡

04/05/2026

We’ve been making a documentary podcast at Life Rites, sharing how we care for the dead and the living who love them.

Nearly 3 decades into this work, and now with our beloved funeral home, we thought it was time to share what we do more widely.

We have received some funding, and have supported this podcast with our own resources and time. We now need to raise $10,000 by July, to finish and release the podcast this year.

If you are able to support this project financially, you make a tax-deductible donation via the Australian Cultural Fund.

Follow this link for more info and to donate: https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000bJq8rMAC/here-we-are-the-living

Here’s a short sample of what the podcast will sound like. You can find a longer one on our donations page.

With love,
Victoria, Jess, and the Life Rites team 🧡

Life Rites Funerals
Victoria Spence

This Saturday, 10am–3pm at Woronora Memorial Park 💛 Woronora Heritage Day An open day exploring the history of the groun...
28/04/2026

This Saturday, 10am–3pm at Woronora Memorial Park 💛 Woronora Heritage Day

An open day exploring the history of the grounds, with heritage tours, behind-the-scenes access to the crematorium, and stallholders including Life Rites.

We’ll be there sharing our doula-led model of care, shrouded cremation, and shrouds, and are always open for conversation if you’re curious about end of life or after death care

Register your attendance here:
https://www.metropolitanmemorialparks.com.au/explore/events/heritage-day-2025-woronora-memorial-park

Metropolitan Memorial Parks
Benjamin James, End of Life Support
Kim Somerville End Of Life Doula

Address

118 Durham Street
Hurstville, NSW
2220

Telephone

+61421200250

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