Frequently Asked Questions

A funeral is a service or gathering surrounding the final disposition of a corpse. Funerals have been around throughout all of history’s civilizations and today, carry religious and traditional significance within many different cultures. Typically funerals consist of a visitation, the service itself and a commitment service in which the body is buried or cremated. 

Funeral directors have an important job to do. Not only do they typically transport the body from place of death to the funeral home, but they are also responsible for all of the paperwork, posting the death notice, planning all aspects of the funeral with the family and providing guidance through that process. They often lead the service itself, are responsible for embalming the body and coordinating either the burial or cremation of the deceased. Funeral directors are admirable professionals who are there for their community when they need it most. 

Behind the scenes families and funeral professionals alike work tirelessly to make a funeral, memorial service or celebration of life happen. No matter what kind of service the family chooses, there is legal paperwork that must be completed, official documents that must be signed and countless decisions that need to be made after a death has occurred. When it comes to planning the service itself, families need to work alongside funeral professionals to make specific arrangements, choose things like music, food, order of the ceremony and much more. People must compile family keepsakes, notify family, friends and look after their family. Funeral directors offer compassionate comfort, guidance and the expertise to bring it all together. 

Organ donation does not have a direct impact on the funeral service itself. Given organ removal is a medical procedure, they are performed with the highest standard of professionalism and care. Typically any removal of organs is done with a single incision and can be covered by the deceased’s clothing. A viewing or visitation would not be prevented by almost any donation procedure, as funeral homes have methods of preserving the bodies’ appearance in even extenuating circumstances. 

A columbarium is a room or space with which one or multiple urns can be stored. Traditionally these structures are located either at a cemetery or on the grounds of a local funeral home. Some people believe that just because someone is cremated they do not have a permanent and final resting place. It is quite the opposite. Just like getting buried in a casket, those who are cremated can be placed in an urn or other vessel and interred - which is the process of placing the remains in their final disposition. 

Embalming is the technical and scientific practice of treating human remains for the purpose of preserving them during the funeral process. Usually, this is done to create more time between death and decomposition - so that the body can be viewed and be present for a visitation, the funeral itself and the graveside service. Although it is an accepted part of the funeral arrangement, there is also legislation in some provinces that requires embalming if the body will not reach its final resting place until 72 hours after the death or later. For other provinces, embalming is required when the body is being repatriated or flown out of province/country. Check with your individual province regulations under the resources area of this website.