Dunedin woman writes her own obituary before dying on New Year’s Day

• Bianca “Bee” Chittock penned her own obituary before dying at home in Dunedin on New Year’s Day, aged 41.
• She completed her bucket list, including racetrack driving and fishing, before her death.
• Her parents, Mike and Sheryl, described her as an amazing, talented person who made her own decisions.

Knowing her ticket had been stamped, Bianca “Bee” Chittock took the unusual step of penning her own obituary before she died.

Chittock, who suffered from a rare genetic condition, died at home in Dunedin surrounded by her loved ones on New Year’s Day, aged 41.

“It pains me to say it but apparently I have passed away!” she wrote in her death notice.

“They told me a long time ago this would happen one day, I didn’t want to hear it.

“My body and health have let me down. If you have any questions it’s too late! Just know I am at peace and out of pain.

“You can celebrate my life with no fuss, no stress, just a catch-up and a yarn with Mum and Dad.”

She concluded with an invitation to her cemetery plot in Tapanui, West Otago: “If you are passing by in the future, do pop by.”

Chittock’s parents, Mike and Sheryl, contributed their own obituary.

“As Bee’s message above reads, she stayed strong and true to her beliefs right to the end,” they wrote.

“With her bucket list complete, a shandy or two, and one last Christmas with all the family, Bee passed away at Karitane on 1.1.2025. With Mike, Sheryl, and her fur babies by her side.”

Sheryl Chittock told the Herald that her daughter was an amazing, talented person who wasn’t afraid to make her own decisions in life.

Sheryl Chittock (left) with her daughter Bianca "Bee" Chittock, who she described as the most beautiful, kind person you could come across.

“She was the most beautiful, kind person you could come across,” she said.

“In the last four weeks, carrying out her bucket list where she went on the racetrack at Highlands in Cromwell and fished at Gabriel’s Gully.

“As hard as it was, [it] was beautiful. I don’t know what we’re going to do without her.”

Bee Chittock was born in Invercargill and lived in Dunedin for 25 years.

She had degrees in human science and early childhood education and had studied primary school teaching.

While unable to work full-time, she had driven a minibus for her father’s bus company.

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