Blog Posts

Jody passed away May 5th, 1988 and I remember that first Christmas Season without her was looming large in front of me as if it were yesterday. I recall wondering what the heck we were going to do without her to celebrate one of her favorite times of the year. So, as a family, we…

To be sure I have no moral judgment around choosing or not choosing MAID, it is a most personal and intimate family conversation that needs to be undertaken with the support of the medical system. The resulting choice is that individual’s and that family’s right to make. Once the choice is made to proceed with…

We often witness friends or family members struggling to make important end of life choices just after a loved one has passed. All we can do in the moment is support them as they struggle to manage their emotions while making often-expensive decisions regarding funeral arrangements. Though it is not the right time in the…

A dear friend of ours from Singapore sent me this quotation via Facebook today and it sure rings true for me. We thought it might serve some of our members and potential members to have a look at it; “Grief never ends… But it changes. It is a passage not a place to stay. Grief…

When it comes to making your end of life arrangements there is one important and over riding principle to remember… “Do Your Research!” There is nothing more challenging than setting out to make funeral arrangements for a loved one when your emotions are running wild and you have no plan and no idea what to…

Our North American view of death – The Grim Reaper – has many of us pushing death away to long-term care homes, hospitals, and hospices. We also outsource after death care to funeral homes almost exclusively. This is not to say that these services are not required by some of us some of the time…

Here is a link to a CBC article about how the funeral industry is recycling as well as cremating. Having been a cremationist myself I do know first hand that metal recycling was and is an important part of the cremation process. Have a read through the article if you are curious.  https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/how-crematoriums-are-recovering-precious-metals-from-inside-the-dead-1.4623039 The Staff…

Many of us Canadians want to die in the comfort of our own home, over 90% in fact.  Yet roughly 70% of us die in care homes or hospitals. Amongst the many reasons for the gap in the wish versus the actual reality is the fact we just don’t know how to handle a home…

We were up in Kelowna, BC last month at a wellness trade show; the Memorial Society was present as an exhibitor and a speaker. We of course focused on end of life preparations and planning, funeral arrangements specifically. In the context of planning funeral arrangements we also spoke about the importance of being All Ready…

It is most important that each of us prepare well for the end of our lives whenever that may come. We here at the Memorial Society of BC are creating an All Ready to Go Binder that will be available early in the New Year 2019 that will give our existing and new members a…