When Death Occurs


No matter if a death is sudden, or if it something that was a long time coming, the loss of a loved one makes us feel emotional and overwhelmed.  No amount of preparation can fully prepare you for the loss of a loved one.  When you are in a heightened emotional state, even the most basic decisions can seem staggering.  The following is a rough guideline of what needs to be done within the first 24 hours after death.

When death occurs at home or a place of business

If the person was not under hospice care, the police will have to be notified immediately.  The police will be dispatched to the home and place the call to the coroner.  From there the coroner will take the deceased and determine whether further action is necessary.  The coroner must release the deceased before our funeral home staff can do anything.   If the person was under hospice care, contact the hospice representative.

When a death occurs at a hospital/nursing home/hospice facility

The staff of a care facility such as a hospital or a nursing home will notify you and the necessary authorities immediately after a death has occurred.  If a funeral home has been provided to the hospital or nursing home, they will be notified at the time of death.  If you are present at the hospital when our funeral director arrives, we will ask a few questions about the deceased wishes and set up a time to come into the funeral home to make arrangements. However, if you are not present one of our funeral directos will contact you by telephone to discuss these arrangements.

Informing a Funeral Director

Once everything has been cleared with the proper authorities, the next call you place should be to one of our licensed funeral directors.  We are here to help you obtain a death certificate, transport the deceased to our care, and in the event pre-planning was not done, complete all necessary funeral arrangements.  Our funeral directors are here to help and advise you and will work very hard to relieve the stress and logistics involved in funeral planning.

Meeting a Funeral Director

You should meet with a funeral director within 24 hours of a death to begin to make final arrangements for your loved one.  Deciding on these final arrangements may seem like a very daunting task, especially when you are in heightened emotional state.  Our staff  have years of experience dealing with these issues, and strive to ensure everything goes as smoothly.

Making Arrangements

First, we will gather information required for the death certificate.  This includes:

  • Full Name and Address
  • Marital Status
  • Date and Place of birth
  • Father’s Name, Mother’s Name (including maiden name)
  • Parents Birthplace
  • Name of Spouse (if married, widowed or divorced)
  • Occupation and Industry

We will also need pertinent documents required to complete paperwork, those documents include:

  • SIN card
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Birth Certificate
  • Will of the deceased

If pre-planning has not been done, necessary arrangements need to be made for the funeral service.  These include:

  • Scheduling the location, date and time of the visitation and funeral service
  • Reception Wishes
  • Selecting burial or cremation
  • Selecting Funeral Merchandise
  • Preparing a death notice for website and print media
  • Scheduling transportation arrangements
  • Selecting photos and music for video tributes

Our staff will guide you through all these steps, using your wants, needs and desires as a foundation to create a memorable funeral for your loved one. From here, the funeral services can be personalized. 

  • Did your loved one have a favorite sports team? 
  • What was their favorite type of music? 
  • What activity was your loved one known best for? 

Recalling fond memories assists with the grieving process, and will help honor the life of your loved one.