Frequently Asked Questions

It is common to have questions about the funeral process. This section answers some commonly asked questions to help make this process easier for you. If additional questions arise, please feel free to contact us directly at the funeral home.

What is a funeral?

A funeral is a ceremony for a deceased person.  A funeral gives the opportunity for family and friends of the deceased to gather and mourn the passing of their loved one, to share cherished memories, and to celebrate their life.  A funeral is a vital step in helping the bereaved heal after the loss of someone special.

What type of service should I have?

If your loved one has pre-arranged his or her service, an outline of what service the deceased would prefer, you have a guideline to follow and personalize. Whether or not your loved one has prearranged his or her service, the privilege rests with you to honour your loved one in a way that is helpful to those left to mourn.  How your loved one lived will be helpful in determining the best way to honour him or her.  Funeral services may be held in a a funeral home, place of worship, cemetery or any other meaningful venue.  You will not do this alone, we, Funeral Director(s), will work with you and help you work through the many considerations to find the best solution.  We will help from beginning to end.

Can I personalize a funeral?

A personalized funeral is one created with the individual who has died at the center. For at person of faith, a service or Mass in a church may be the most fitting.  However, a person of faith may wish a service held in a funeral home, cemetery or other venue, but still reflect his or her faith.  A funeral may best honour a person when it reflects the life that was lived.  We will assist you to create a meaningful funeral that best honour the life of the deceased. There is no one way to celebrate somebody’s life. Let us help you celebrate the life that was lived.

Do we need to have an obituary notice and what is included in one?

An obituary is a publication is encouraged as it announces the passing of your loved one.   Over the years obituaries were posted to local newspapers, however, with the decline in newspaper publications, funeral home websites, like this one provides an excellent source of information.  Most important, the obituary states your loved ones passing, let's the reader know who the he or she was related, details about your loved one's life that you may wish to share and pertinent information about how you will honour his or her life (i.e., visitation(s) or service(s), privately). Please know you do not need to do this alone, we will meet with you, guide and write an obituary notice with you. One of the benefits of publishing to our website, is we can correct, change/add information that may be overlooked or incorrect. Further, the reach of publication on our website is global. You loved one's obituary may be accessed from anywhere in the world. 

Who are funeral directors and what do they do?

Funeral directors are professionals, who practice "The Funeral" - the methodology that guides us through the loss of a loved one. From the first telephone call to tell of your loved ones passing to the completion of the services you require; we are here to help and guide you throughout the process.  First, most important, taking care of your loved one, making sure he or she is safe and protected.  This sacred task is accomplished with respect, and due diligence - when the deceased person is received by the funeral home, a Chain of Custody form is initiated and follows the deceased until interment (body or cremated remains) or released to the person-in-charge (cremated remains).  Secondly, equally important, taking care of you, those suffering the loss.    We meet with you to help you honour your loved one in a way that works for you.  We provide guidance, we facilitate all the necessary paperwork, arrangements, logistics and help you personalize the funeral is a way that best honours your loved one. We are here to assist prior to death to discuss options and take information to help loved ones in the future - prearranging. We are also her after the funeral service to asset with Service Canada and/or notifications to insurance companies - or, just to have a chat. 

What happens if the death occurs in the middle of the night or on the weekend?

We are here to help. Call us at 902-752-8866. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

What if a death occurs away from my hometown?

Contact us, we will assist.

What is embalming and what purpose does it serve?

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the human body. It also slows down the decomposition process and enhances the appearance of a body impacted by a traumatic death or illness through restorative procedures.  Embalming makes the body safe for grieving persons to view and have a final "good-bye".   Embalming shapes the "memory picture" that stays in the mind of the observer for a lifetime.  This final memory needs to be one that give peace and comfort.  Whether or not the deceased is being cremated or inhumed (body burial) having one last peaceful look extremely important.  In cases of trauma, post-mortem or other existing physical conditions that would have a negative impact, embalming is required in order to view.

Do I need to have an embalming?

No.  If you are requesting immediate disposition (cremation or inhumation).  Part of our due diligence, we require identification of a deceased person before disposition.  We offer, when possible, viewing of the deceased prior to cremation or burial.  We do basic preparation (sanitize, fix features) to make your loved one look as peaceful as possible. It is our belief that saying good-bye at our funeral home is helpful.  We also offer the option of identification from a photo that we take of the deceased.  Where the deceased person has been released by the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, we will rely on their identification of the deceased person in cases where we cannot have physical or photo identification. (Fatality Investigations Act, Section 5(7))

How much does a funeral cost?

Funeral costs are established by the wishes of our clients.  Verbal quotes are often misunderstood or misleading, hence we prefer not to give.  We prefer to meet with the person(s) requesting the quote and discuss what his/her/their wishes may be. During this time, we are able to provide guidance and suggestions that will help in the future.  Once we have received these wishes/future instructions, we provide a descriptive written quote with a synopsis of our discussion. For such an important consideration, we believe you deserve our time and attention to detail, which we provide free of charge and no obligation.

What do I do if I am not satisfied with the way a funeral was handled?

If you have complaints regarding a funeral service, please contact The Nova Scotia Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. 

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