The Memorial Society of British Columbia (MSBC) was established in 1956, helping members access simple, affordable and dignified funerals for over 65 years. We learned recently of the closures of the People’s Memorial Society of BC and the Vancouver Island Memorial Society, effective November 1st, 2022. These two organizations are independent and separate from the MSBC. While People’s and Vancouver Island Memorial Society memberships will be honoured by their contracted funeral providers, you can become a member of MSBC for access to our contracted funeral providers at the reduced membership rate we normally charge for the transfer from memorial societies in other provinces. For more information, we invite you to contact us. Please call our office at 1-888-816-5902, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm Peter Toppings Executive Director

The Board and Staff of the Memorial Society of BC hope that you and your loved ones
are well and safe.

This year we will be holding our 66th Annual General Meeting

Saturday, November 5th, 2022
1:00 – 2:30 pm
Sanctuary, Unitarian Church of Vancouver
949 West 49 th Ave, Vancouver

With guest speaker Karen Hendrickson,
Co-Founder of the Death Doula Network of BC

Members will have the option to attend in person or online through zoom.

A Special Resolution will be introduced at the AGM
Click here to review the Resolution

Please note that only members who participate in person (i.e. considered to be present)
will be able to cast a vote regarding the Special Resolution. For this current year,
members attending online through zoom are not deemed to be present.

Please Register by Friday, October 28th
If you wish to attend the AGM, email assistant@memorialsocietybc.org with the subject
line “AGM Registration” and indicate whether you wish to attend in person or through
zoom.

Once your membership is confirmed, we will email you a meeting information package
prior to November 5 th.

We hope you will join us!

If you would like someone to come and speak to your group or participate in a panel, we are available to join your virtual event. Please contact us at assistant@memorialsocietybc.org for more information.

If you do have questions about making funeral arrangements that are not immediate please do so by email and contact us at admin@memsoc.org

Our answering service is always available for weekend and evening calls but during this unusual time of Covid-19 please use the telephone services for immediate funeral needs of a loved one who has recently died. All those no urgent calls are best handled by email until we are through this challenging health pandemic.

Keep safe and please do practice all the social distancing measures that our health professionals are recommending.

The MSBC Staff and Board Teams

We had a lovely Death Cafe at Brock House the month and are looking forward to our next event on February 24th! Do come early as seats are limited and we have a full group last month!

 

Just a short reminder that we will be holding our monthly Death Cafe on Monday December 16th, 2019 starting at 1:15 pm. I look forward to seeing you at Brock House!

We are holding our regular monthly Death Cafe at Brock House Monday October 21st, 2019 starting at 1:15 pm, would love to see our regular friends and some new ones too. We will have a supply of our popular All Ready to Go Binder on hand for you to purchase!

Warmly

The MSBC Staff Team

Do come and visit us at this wonderful event taking place Saturday September 21st, 2019 at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. We will have a booth all set up for you to visit and we will be featuring our All Ready to Go Binder along with the other values of being a member of the Memorial Society of BC.

Bring some friends and family members and learn about the important issue end of life requires us all to be aware of and planned for.

With 916,000 baby boomers currently living in British Columbia coupled with most of us wanting to die in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of our own homes we have some planning to do!

Now lets be clear dying at home is not for each and every one of us even though that may be our wish. My dear brother Peter had his home in Creston, BC all set up for his home death he and his wife April had planned for him. As his health deteriorated and his care became even more complex the Butterfly Room at the Creston General Hospital became his new home. Though home death is not for everyone it is a viable solution for many more folks than we would imagine.

So what are some of the important things we need to discuss? Here are five questions that can lead your conversations;

How do we care for the primary care giver?

Oftentimes in home care situations the primary caregiver fall prey to illness directly as a result of carrying the burden of the care responsibilities. Can we create a family schedule that ensures the care load is shared and no family member burns out?

What does the one dying need and want?

A conversation with the family member dying regarding their wants and needs is important in order for the family to set up an appropriate care plan.

What outside support will we need?

Check with your local community services society for such services as volunteer drivers, home support, and home nursing care. There are in fact more resources in your community than you may first imagine.

Is our home ready and safe for all of us?

There are professional organizations that will do a safety check of your family home to make certain it is safe for everyone. Stairways, doorways, carpets, kitchen and bathrooms may all need some form of renovation to make the space safe for both the individual ageing and dying and those that provide hands on care. Stairwell chair systems and walk-in bathtubs are two examples.

Do we have our end of life paperwork handled?

Along with powers of attorney, wills, representation agreements and advanced care directives you would be well served to obtain and complete and expected letter of death in the home which can be obtained from your family doctor. This important letter removes the necessity of calling 911 when your loved ones does pass. You can confirm this with your family’s funeral director too.

 

We will be at the Brock House on Tuesday August 27th to facilitate their third Death Cafe held on site!  Please do feel free to come along and check both Brock House and the event out. Here is a link for your easy use;

https://bhs.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=924373&item_id=1025077

The MSBC

Staff Team