Angjolie Mei | 洪鈺琇
Experienced Funeral Director in Singapore
Angjolie Mei | 洪鈺琇 Founder & Life Celebrant
Angjolie Mei is one of a handful of women in Singapore's funeral industry and one of its most recognised voices. Founder of The Life Celebrant 心篇章, she is a certified Funeral Celebrant, published author, and podcast host — best known for her autobiography Dying to Meet You: Confessions of a Funeral Director, published in 2017. Her work has helped reshape how Singapore approaches farewell, grief, and the celebration of life.
Podcast Host
A woman of many talents, she also hosts seminars, talks and workshops regularly and launched a podcast series 'Dying To Meet You' in 2021.
Dying to Meet You is an inspirational podcast series where successful people who on the surface seems to have got it all under control, share their darkest moments when they struggled in silence.
Listen to this podcast if you feel like you need a dose of inspiration to overcome your own struggles.
Author
"Dying to Meet You: Confessions of a Funeral Director" is far more than a memoir about the funeral industry—it's a profound collection of life lessons learned from the stories of those who have passed.
Dying to Meet You
$29.99
爱的告别
$21.90
1985-2004
The Early Days
She is the daughter of the late Ang Yew Seng, a pioneer in Singapore's funeral industry, who was known by some as the coffin Samaritan as he often donated coffins and provided funeral services for free to the needy and those without next- of-kin. The second of four children, she was educated at Ai Tong School, Yio Chu Kang Secondary School, Anderson Junior College and the National University of Singapore where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Arts and Social Science (Major in Economics and Psychology) in 2001.
2004-2010
Exploring New Grounds
To appease her mother, Angjolie left to join a financial advisory firm and built a successful career, but was eventually drawn back to what she loved. She started her own funeral services company, The Life Celebrant 心篇章, in 2010. A firm believer in celebrating the life of the deceased, she has sought to professionalise the industry and introduce innovations. These include a facility for family members to help dress and care for the deceased, Showers of Love 留心语. She also started the service, Angel Star 天使心, a service for the departed little one gone before their time and The Life Legacy, a service for the legacy planning.
2009-2012
Learning Overseas
In the year 2009, she returned to the funeral industry. She took the opportunity to travel to Malaysia, America, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, France, Japan, Taiwan, and The Philippines. This helped Angjolie widen her knowledge extensively on their different funeral cultures and brought about her motivation to reform Singapore’s essentially traditional funeral industry and help to become Singapore's top funeral director.
During a funeral exchange program in New Zealand, Angjolie who was one of the funeral assistants attended a family who had a funeral celebrant service, instead of the conventional religious Buddhist monk, Taoist priest, or Christian pastor ceremony.
2010 - Present
The Life Celebrant Journey
Two occasions deeply etched in Angjolie’s mind gave her insight to what she wanted for the funeral business, moving her towards providing more ‘software’ and care to meaningful funerals. The first being her best friend’s death when she was 12 years old. “I locked myself in my room and played the piano continuously for days, as I could not understand death when my friend died,” says Angjolie.
The second was her father, Mr Ang Yew Seng’s funeral. Having learnt first-hand as the next-of-kin, one had to play host, explain how the deceased had departed and so on, all the while trying to cope with one’s own grief. “In my eyes, my patriarchal father was strict, quiet, and seldom joked with us. But I came to know another side of him through his friends who came to the funeral. They told me that he was an extremely kind and humorous person!”
From this experience, she thought deeper into the business and discovered that the commemoration and eulogy would allow the family reprieve in enabling them to cope better and not regret his passing, as well as to help them heal their grief. Being remembered in good and meaningful ways comforts the living, honours the dead, and provides a lasting legacy of love.