What To Do When Death Occurs

Q. What should I do before a death occurs at home or at a hospital?
A. Before the death occurs, please provide the hospital nursing staff our contact information. The hospital staff will then contact Trinity Funeral Home following the death and we will arrange for the deceased to be transferred into our care. With a home death, please advise the Home Care Nurse to contact Trinity Funeral Home when the death occurs.

Q. What should I do after the death occurs at home or at a hospital?
A. When death occurs, Trinity Funeral Home personnel are available to assist you at any hour, seven days a week. Please call (780) 474-4663 for assistance. The only information you need to provide us with is the name of the deceased, the location of the deceased and the name, relationship and phone number of the person who will be responsible for making the funeral arrangements. We will arrange immediately for the deceased to be transferred into our care.

When a sudden death has occurred at home, call 911, the medical examiner and local police (E.P.S. or R.C.M.P.) may be required.



Funeral Questions

Q. What is the purpose of a funeral?
A. A funeral is a gathering of family and friends who come together to honor the memory of a loved one who has died. Funerals provide surviving family members and friends a caring, supportive environment in which to recognize the death of a loved one, and to share thoughts and feelings about that person. Funerals are the first step in the healing process. The ritual of attending a funeral service provides many benefits including:

* Providing a social support system for the bereaved
* Helping the bereaved understand death is final and that death is part of life
* Integrating the bereaved back into the community
* Easing the transition to a new life after the death of a loved one
* Providing a safe haven for embracing and expressing pain
* Reaffirming one's relationship with the person who died
* Providing a time to say good-bye

It is possible to have a full funeral service even for those choosing cremation. The importance of the ritual is in providing a social gathering to help the bereaved begin the healing process.

Q. Who is the funeral for?
A. The funeral is for the living. The deceased no longer has any needs. The funeral provides a place for family and friends to gather for support and to reminisce. It is an opportunity to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a loved one and allows a chance to say goodbye. The funeral illustrates that a persons life has been lived, NOT that a death has occurred.

Q. What do funeral directors do?
A. The primary role of a funeral director is to assist and serve people experiencing the death of a loved one. Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They make the arrangements for the transportation of the deceased, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the deceased. Funeral directors are listeners, advisors and supporters. They have experience assisting the bereaved in coping with death. Funeral directors are trained to answer questions about grief, recognize when a person is having difficulty coping, and recommend sources of professional help. Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community.

Q. Why have a visitation and/or viewing?
A. The viewing of the deceased is helpful in accepting that death has occurred. It is especially helpful to the immediate family but also to the extended family and friends. The opportunity to physically say goodbye is a very important part of the grief process.

Q. What are the key elements of a funeral?
A. A funeral can include any of the following: private or public visitation with the bereaved family and/or viewing of the deceased; the actual ceremony; and a gathering at the time of cremation and/or burial. Each of these stages offers an opportunity to make the funeral a very personal event, reflecting the unique needs and wishes of those involved.

Q. How soon do we have the funeral?
A. Usually the funeral service is held within three to four days following the death. Factors to consider when deciding on the time of the service are, the distance that family members have to travel to attend the funeral, are there any holidays that would interfere with the burial, what is the schedule of the person that will officiate at the funeral.



Preplanning & Prepaying

Q. What is a prearranged funeral?
A. A prearranged funeral is when all of the funeral wishes have been selected and recorded by the funeral home prior to death. The arrangements are either made by the person for whom the arrangements are for or by someone responsible for their care. There is no charge for prearranging a funeral. Prearrangements can involve the deposit of funds for payment of the funeral or can simply be the gathering of information. It is a way for people to ease the emotional and financial strain for those family and friends left behind.

Q. Is preplanning a funeral and prepaying the same thing?
A. No. Preplanning a funeral involves choosing all the preferences and options incorporated in a funeral, while providing the necessary vital statistic information that would be required at the time of death. This is what we refer to as The Simple Plan. When prepaying for a funeral, you are securing and "freezing" those funeral costs against inflation by funding the expenses prior to death. This can be in the form of a one time, lump sum payment, or time payments made over the course of a set period.

Q. What are the benefits of pre-planning?
A. Prearranging your funeral gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your wishes will be respected down to the last detail. Investing in a prearrangement is not only comforting for you, but also for your family, as it lifts the burden of arranging a funeral during their difficult time.

Q. What are the benefits of pre-paying?
A. It eliminates a financial burden to your family, it provides peace of mind and protects you from price increases, and it simplifies things for your loved ones at the time of your death.

Q. What is involved in making pre-arrangements?
A. Recording personal information that is required for Vital Statistics. This consists of full name, address, spouse's name, occupation, birth date, birthplace, parent's names and their birthplaces and your next of kin or executor. Making service choices. Funeral or memorial service, burial, cremation or transfer to another city, music selections, personalized service folders, video presentation, participants (family and/or friends) to create a meaningful service. Making specific selections. The selection of a casket or cremation container, an urn, a burial or urn vault, and a monument or memorial marker. Arranging a payment plan. The services do not have to be prepaid, but the costs will be guaranteed not to increase if payment is made at one time or by monthly payments.

Q. If I should move to another country or for whatever reason change my plans, can I get my money back?
A. Certainly. Keep in mind this money deposited in a trusted pre-paid funeral plan is always your money. Funds and interest earned may be returned to you on the receipt of a letter from you requesting its return, bearing your signature and the signature of a responsible witness.

Q. Are pre-paid funeral contracts transferable?
A. Yes. Transfers of pre-paid contracts take place regularly and for good reasons such as: the beneficiary moves, his/her contract is usually transferred to and is honoured by the funeral home in that city which the originating funeral home recommends. Becuase Trinity Funeral Home is a Canadian Independent Funeral Home, we will find a Canadian Independent firm to handle your funeral arrangements.



Cremation

Q. What is cremation?
A. Cremation is the process of using intense heat to reduce the body to bone fragments and ashes. It normally takes two to four hours for this process to be completed. The cremated remains weigh three to nine pounds, depending on the size of the body.

Q. Is cremation a substitute for a funeral?
A. No, cremation is an alternative method of disposition. In actuality, cremation is only part of the commemorative experience. In fact, cremation can actually increase your options when planning a funeral. Cremation gives people the flexibility to search for types of tributes that reflect the life being honored. But this doesn't mean that aspects of traditional funeral services have to be discarded. Even with cremation, a meaningful memorial that is personalized to reflect the life of the deceased could include:

* A visitation prior to the service
* An open or closed casket
* Special music
* A ceremony at the funeral chapel, your place of worship or other special location
* Participation by friends and family

Q. What happens during the cremation process?
A. The casket/cremation container holding the body is placed in the cremation chamber, where the temperature is raised to approximately 1400 degrees to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. After approximately 3 hours, all organic matter is consumed by heat or evaporation. The remaining bone fragments are known as cremated remains. The cremated remains are then carefully removed from the cremation chamber. Any metal is removed with a magnet and later disposed of in an approved manner. The cremated remains are then processed into fine particles and are placed in a temporary container provided by the crematory or placed in an urn purchased by the family. The entire process takes approximately three hours.

Q. Is the body exposed to an open flame during the cremation process?
A. Yes, the body is exposed to direct heat and flame. Cremation is performed by placing the deceased in a casket or other container and then placing the casket or container into a cremation chamber or retort, where they are subjected to intense heat and flame.

Q. I would like a funeral, but I prefer to be cremated. Can I do that?
A. Yes. The fact that a person or their family chooses cremation as a final form of disposition makes absolutely no reference to the type of services which can be held prior to the cremation. In fact, many families choose to have traditional gatherings, visitations and/or viewings and funerals with their deceased family member's physical body present prior to the cremation.

Q. Is a casket required?
A. For sanitary reasons, ease of placement and dignity, most crematories require that the deceased be cremated in a combustible, leak proof, rigid, covered container. This does not need to be a casket as such.

Q. Can a casket be rented instead of purchased when choosing cremation?
A. Yes. Many funeral homes offer a ceremonial casket for viewing or funeral services prior to cremation. The ceremonial (or rental) casket is specifically designed to provide a very pleasing and affordable alternative to purchasing a casket for a cremation service.

Q. What can be done with the cremated remains?
A. Cremated remains may be kept at home, buried in a cemetery, placed in a columbarium, or scattered. In Alberta there are no laws prohibiting the scattering of remains. It is always a good idea to ask for permission when scattering on private land. If you are on crown land they ask that you avoid any waterways. The cremains can be interred in a cemetery plot, i.e., earth burial, retained by a family member, in an urn, scattered on private property, or at a place that was significant to the deceased.

Q. What is a columbarium?
A. A columbarium is constructed above ground and contains numerous small compartments (niches) designed to hold urns containing cremated remains.

Q. Can The Family Witness The Cremation?
A. Yes, in many cases, cremation providers will allow family members to be present when the body is placed into the cremation chamber.

Q. What is a keepsake or sharing urn?
A. A keepsake urn has been designed for those who wish to keep a small portion of the cremated remains and/or a lock of hair in their personal possession.

Q. What is cremation jewelry?
A. Cremation Jewelry offers families a means by which they carry a small portion of cremated remains of their one in a discrete manner. Many styles of hearts, crosses, birds in either sterling silver, traditional or white gold are available.



General Questions

Q. What is the cost of a funeral?
A. Funeral costs vary depending on the funeral home and type of service selected. There are three types of costs associated with a funeral: (1) services provided by the funeral home (2) merchandise such as a casket or urn and (3) disbursements such as newspaper or cemetery fees.

Q. Do I need to notify the government of my loved ones death?
A. No. Part of the legal paperwork completed by our funeral home includes legal notification to both the federal and provincial governments. The family's only responsibility is to provide the funeral home with the correct Social Insurance Number.

Q. Are funeral service providers or funeral homes regulated?
A. All funeral service providers, operating in the Province of Alberta are regulated by the: Alberta Funeral Services Regulatory Board
11810 Kingsway Ave. Edmonton, AB T5G 0X5
Telephone: (780) 452-6130
Toll Free: (800) 563-4652
Fax: (780) 452-6085
Email Address: office@afsrb.ab.ca

Q. Do we need to have clergy involved?
A. While some choose to have family members or friends speak at the funeral, many families look for spiritual guidance and comfort at that time. So for them, having a clergy involved is natural. However, it is not necessary to have clergy involved. It's the opportunity for expression that is important, and we can help arrange for someone to assist in providing a meaningful celebration.

Q. Who prepares the obituary?
A. Our arranging funeral director will gather the information for the obituary at the time we meet with you. We will then draft the obituary and forward it to the local and out of town newspapers of your choice. We place special emphasis on the wording and writing of an obituary, knowing it serves a very special purpose for many of its readers.

Q. How expensive is an obituary?
A. The Edmonton Journal charges $9.10 per line per day. Photos cost an additional $100. Families should budget between $300 - $400 for an obituary.

Q. Does the law require embalming of a dead body?
A. Except in certain cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary however, depending on the type of service you select, such as a funeral with viewing. If the body is being transported out of Province or out of Country by a common carrier such as an airline, then the body must be embalmed.

Q. What is embalming?
A. Embalming is the temporary preservation of the human body following death. This surgical-like procedure involves injecting chemicals into the deceased to produce a life-like appearance. This helps to stall decomposition of the body, providing more time for a viewing and/or service.