Meet the team
Dave Richardson
Managing Director
Favourite quotes
As you slide down the banister of life may you never get a splinter!! – Irish Blessing
Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value – Einstein
Your top 3 values?
- People matter and should be valued
- We are stronger together in community
- Always give your best; nothing is achieved without hard work.
What do you enjoy doing?
Cycling, gardening and skiing.
Role at Living Hope Funerals?
Lead and support the team to deliver our funeral services; and engage with clients to create a meaningful farewell for their loved one.
Previous positions that helped prepare you?
General business management and strategic planning, team leading, church administration and event planning.
Why do you like working at Living Hope?
Opportunity to support families in a time of need and work with like-minded individuals and Pastors to honour lives that have contributed meaningfully to others.
Mike Pearson
Funeral Planner & Chaplain
Favourite quote
Grace is not opposed to effort but to earning – Dallas Willard
Book that most impacted you?
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Your top 3 values?
I value intimacy with Christ, treating people with kindness, and being intentionally inclusive.
What do you enjoy doing?
Walking the beach and eating dinner with my wife, Maggie, my sons, their wives and our Cavoodle!
Role at Living Hope Funerals?
I help families and pastors arrange all aspects of funerals, memorial services and celebrations of life. I am also able to conduct the funeral service if a pastor is not available.
Previous positions that helped prepare you?
I have been a church planter and pastor for twenty years and an aged care chaplain for the last four years.
How does Living Hope minister to the grieving?
By going about the necessarily practical arrangements with kindness and sensitivity, and by cultivating hope-filled memorial services that celebrate, honour and farewell the loved one who has died.
Why do you like working at Living Hope?
I love being able to create an environment for grieving people to experience the love and comfort of God.
Cheri McMaster
Funeral Planner
Favourite quotes
Life itself is the proper binge – Julia Child
Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words and never stops at all – Emily Dickinson
Book that has stayed with you?
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, a book my mother read to me that I have shared with my girls. Now a favourite movie too. So many modern resonant themes written by a woman over 150 years ago – so good!
Your top 3 values?
Faith – Receiving and giving the love of God, no matter what – good things, bad things – whatever happens.
Family & Community – Engaging in meaningful ways to fulfill my purpose as spouse, parent, family member and friend.
Time – Appreciating the finite resource of time and seeking wisdom in the spending of it.
What do you enjoy doing?
Spending time with family, friends or all by myself doing any or all of the following: early morning bushwalks or coast walks, cooking, eating, reading the newspaper or autobiographies (of mostly non-famous people), listening to music, thrift shopping, arm-chair travelling, dreaming about actual travelling, pottering in the garden.
Role at Living Hope Funerals?
As a Funeral Planner I come alongside families at a difficult time to help facilitate the process of organising and achieving a memorial event and celebration of life that is personal, meaningful and memorable.
Previous positions that have helped prepare you?
Since graduating from the University of Sydney with a Health Science degree in Rehabilitation Counselling over twenty years ago, I have had various roles with two common threads – community engagement and service delivery. Whether that was as a support group facilitator for family carers, working for a family business, running playgroup and, most recently, school administration, I have had the privilege of hearing and valuing the needs of others, their stories and discovering how I might be of help to them in whatever their season of life.
Jodi Herbert
Marketing Manager
Favourite quotes
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story – my dear dad (probably still telling great stories in heaven!)
Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it. – M.H. McKee
Book that has stayed with you?
The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do
Your top 3 values?
Kindness, humour, wisdom, creativity, authenticity (pick 3!).
What do you enjoy doing?
Making things (sourdough, kombucha, perfume, candles, art), the beach, great conversations, swimming, reading, tea.
Role at Living Hope Funerals:
Supporting the team with communications such as website, collateral and advertising. This is all to let people know that Living Hope Funerals is operational and ready to serve them and their family in a way that is honest, relational and compassionate.
Previous positions that helped prepare you?
Marketing positions in other industries such as education, finance and consumer goods. Though these may not correspond with the funeral industry, there is one common link – my focus has always been, and will continue to be, on the customer.