• Staff, vehicles, equipment and facilities available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
• Provide the initial transportation of the deceased from the place of death to the funeral home, and eventually to the cemetery, crematorium, or depot as required.
• Coordinate the basic details with the family pertaining to the final disposition of the deceased.
• Assemble, record and file all statistical information about the deceased.
• Assist the family in composing an obituary, and then type obituary and deliver to the newspaper(s) and radio station(s) as required.
• Order the cremation and/or cemetery plot as required.
• Procure all necessary certificates and register the death.
• Laminate the obituary for the family.
• Notify CPP of the death, and any other agency that the family requests.
• Hold the remains in our facility until the time of final disposition.
• Place remains in casket or container as selected by the family.
• Follow-up is done with each family to ensure satisfaction of the services provided.  
• Ongoing washing and maintaining of our fleet of vehicles to ensure their readiness.
• Ongoing cleaning, maintenance and upgrading of the facilities (inside and out) and equipment to ensure their presentable readiness for all families.
• Ongoing reordering of merchandise and supplies as required to ensure constantly available stock.
• Ongoing bookkeeping, record-keeping, merchandising, and other business-related practices as required by any business.
• Ongoing professional development, staff training, and regulatory compliance to maintain our licensing under the Funeral Directors and Establishments Act of Ontario.

Additional, Depending On Type And Level Of Service Selected:

• Arrange with the family as to what type of service they wish.
• Coordinate the details with church, clergy, organist, choir, fraternal organizations, legions, etc... as required by the family.
• Order the burial vault as required.
• Reorder the casket or container as selected.
• Embalm, wash, dress, cosmetize the remains as required.
• Arrange for hairdresser.
• Assist with ordering of flowers, coffee reception, monument, etc... as requested by the family.
• Laminate additional obituaries as required by the family.
• Print prayer cards as requested by the family.
• Arrange for calligraphy of register book.
• Coordinate with florists the delivery time and location for flowers.
• Set-up the visitation room for the evening gathering (ie: flowers, pictures, equipment, casket, etc...) as required.
• Prepare coffee lounges, washrooms, etc... specifically for the evening gathering.
• Arrange for sufficient staff to conduct service (and look after other funeral home matters).
• Prepare sufficient vehicles as required specifically for the service.
• Prepare coffee lounges, washrooms, etc... specifically for the service as required.
• Set-up the chapel and/or church for service (ie: flowers, pictures, equipment, reserved signs, casket, no-parking signs, etc...) as required.
• Clean driveway and parking areas of snow and ice for evening and services (as required in winter).
• Prepare audio equipment and audio tape for background music and recording of chapel services.
• For services, there are generally two staff outside assisting people in the parking area, and parking family/pallbearer vehicles in the procession as required. Inside the funeral home/church are the funeral director in charge, and one or more other staff directing friends to the register book; assisting with donations; assembling and instructing family, fraternal groups, legionnaires and pallbearers; ushering; coordinating last-minute details with clergy, organist, choir, and speakers; etc...
• During the service, final details are verified with the cemetery/crematorium as required, and the reception location is called with the number of people at the service.
• Also during the service in the funeral home, one staffmember is constantly monitoring the sound system and the audio-recording of the service.
• When there is a procession the family vehicles are lined-up in specific order as instructed by the family, specific instructions are announced to all those driving in the procession, and there are two or more staff that participate in the procession itself.
• After the service the flowers are delivered to the locations selected by the family, the register book sympathy/mass cards, and flower cards are assembled and presented to the family.
• Follow-up is done with the family regarding post-funeral and thank you newspaper notices, additional thank you cards, death certificates, etc...
• When cremation is involved, follow-up is also done to deliver ashes to the family or cemetery, or to arrange for a graveside service.

Time, Hours, and Value:

          While it costs a great deal of money to operate any business, a funeral home is an exceptionally expensive business to run professionally. The 24 hour per day, 365 days per year availability; the fact that the building is open and manned an average of 12 hours per day, every day; the specialized nature of the building and equipment; the expectation of the public that the facilities be large, conveniently located, neat and clean, tastefully decorated, and upgraded regularly; the expectation that the staff be properly attired and that the vehicles be clean and well maintained; the requirement of a large well-trained caring and professional staff; and ongoing regulatory compliance with various levels of government all add to the cost of doing business.

          According to surveys and studies conducted by various groups over the years, a basic direct disposition without service, requires in the range of 15 to 20 manhours to perform. A complete, traditional funeral service is in the range of 60 to 65 manhours.

          When one compares the amount of professional manhours involved, and the facilities, vehicles and equipment required to perform the service to the family (regardless of how basic or elaborate) vs. the hourly rate for any other professional or tradesman, funeral service is a very good value!




FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS CHECKLIST:

FOR ALL SERVICES:

Courtesy Assistance
- Coffee Urn and/or Chairs
- Floral Arrangements
- Reception Arrangements
- Magnetic Picture Board
- Grief Material especially for children/grandchildren
- Sound System available for Personalized Music at Chapel Service

Additional Charge Options
- Reception Facilities / Catering
- Laminated Obituaries
- Prayer Cards
- Silk Casket Sprays
For Information
- Coffee and Tea will be provided during evening gatherings
- Calligraphy in Register Book / Thank you cards provided
- CPP and GST notified by Everest
- Chapel organist provided for Chapel Services
- Crucifixes and Fraternal Plaques, Flags, etc... provided as needed
- Chapel Services Audio-Taped

Miscellaneous Suggestions
- Memorial Verse for Obituary
- Photo for Obituary
- Honourary Pallbearers
- Boutonnieres for Pallbearers

BURIAL SERVICES:  Additional Charge Options
- Second Limousine and/or Sedan for family and/or pallbearers
- Burial Vault for cemetery
- Urn and/or Cremation Vault
- Pallbearers
- When Complete In Chapel  - Transportation for the family to Service
                                             - Carry-out to Funeral Coach
                                             - Graveside Services

CREMATION SERVICES:   Additional Charge Options
- Identification
- Memorial Funeral Service
- Evening Gathering
- Graveside Services
- Transportation for the family to/from Service and Reception
- Funeral Coach (rather than van or suburban) to Crematorium
- Casket rather than Container
- Urn and/or Cremation Vault
- Personal Keepsake Urns, Plaques, Jewellery and Appliques

 

          Thank you for visiting with us on our web-site.  We hope you have learned something new about us and about our profession.  If you have any questions, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 - John-Bryan Gardiner, Vice-President, Managing Partner.