FAQ: Funeral & Burial Questions

Our burial caskets start at approximately $595. If you are concerned about casket costs, speak with your funeral director who can advise you on the most appropriate casket for your situation and your budget.

When a person passes away at a facility without a morgue(ie. care home, pallitaive ward, hospice or residence), we must have staff and a vehicle available to respond within 2 to 3 hours. This requires a staff member to be on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and  with this comes increased staffing costs.

Some of the things you'll discuss with your funeral director involve purchases made from outside vendors, and you will be asked to pay for those items at the time of the arrangement meeting.  Your funeral director will provide you with a detailed invoice for all cash advance items.

A good rule of thumb is to expect to pay at the time the service contract is signed at the time of the arrangement, or soon afterwards. To learn more about our burial pricing options, click here.

First is the purchase price of the "right to use" the burial plot (unlike a real estate purchase, where you buy the land and all the structures on it; here you are only purchasing what is called the "interment rights" to the land). In addition, there are fees for the "opening" and "closing" of the gravesite; and any fees required to obtain the necessary permits and to maintain cemetery files and records.  There's also the headstone or grave marker installation fee, and a one-time "perpetual care" (sometimes called "endowment care") fee paid to ensure your loved one's burial site is well-maintained.

If your loved one has not made previous arrangements for their burial, leaving you to pick the location of their interment, the first thing you'll need to do involves the selection of the cemetery and burial location within the grounds. You'll also choose the most suitable casket and provide us with the clothing if you'd like your loved one to be dressed (and any 'special items' you'd like us to place in the casket) . Once payment is made, the date and time of interment is agreed upon. At that time, the cemetery grounds keepers will take care of the "opening" and "closing" of the grave and the proper placement of the casket in the burial vault. Visit this section of our website for more information.

Rather than having a service in a church or funeral home chapel, and then adjourning to the cemetery for the burial; some families choose to gather solely at the cemetery. There, you can be led through a ceremony prepared by a clergy person or celebrant and witness the in-ground committal of their loved one's casket. To learn more, click here.

When we make arrangements for the direct burial of an individual, we are expediting their interment. There will be no graveside service; instead, we provide the physical care of the deceased and then escort the casket to the cemetery for immediate burial.

This is a question we hear a lot. Many funeral homes suggest (and may even go so far as to require) embalming if you're planning a viewing or visitation. That's because they want the experience to be as good as it can be for those in attendance, and proper embalming can ensure the deceased looks as good as possible. But as a general rule, embalming is not necessary or legally required if the body is cared for in a relatively short amount of time.

The cemetery may put a temporary identification marker on your loved one's grave, but it is only intended as a placeholder until a permanent headstone or grave marker is set in place. Without one, your loved one's burial site will, when this temporary marker becomes illegible or is somehow removed, appear "unmarked". When you are ready to design a permanent memorial, we recommend Mortimer's Monumental Works.

We don't like to use the word "should" when we speak to families about this issue. So the question becomes one of assessing your heart's desire: what do you really want? Then there's the question of your deceased loved one's wishes; exactly what would he or she think or feel? Most commonly we advise families to offer their community as many caring options as possible; some will send flowers, some will send donations; and some will even do both.