When I see my neighbours, friends and colleagues on the morning commute, I am reminded about what makes our community so special. Our stories, our history, our unique experiences….  these are the elements that bond us together and I never stop thinking about it. My father once told me that if you care, others will […]

When the storm arrives…Please know that there is a safe place where you can find shelter, comfort and a true sense of care.  Springfield Funeral Home believes that you deserve a personal, honest, and a flexible funeral arrangement process – with every service comfortably provided right here, under one roof. So when you need a […]

As the world changes around us we tend to forget what makes our lives so special. What if we spent a little less time alone and instead found more time to reconnect with what matters most? Would we feel more connected to our history, traditions, to our community, to our truest self? Would more sharing of personal, and fun stories with friends strengthen the bond […]

Some pre-arrange their funerals because they don’t want stress and emotion to cloud their judgment. Others, chose to secure a more affordable rate today and at the same time avoid passing the responsibility to their loved ones. But for most, pre-arranging… together, is the perfect opportunity to express, share and discuss their personal wishes. Find […]

The process will often start with a, an appointment at the funeral home. Um, a welcome is done. And introduction to the facility. We want people to understand how comfortable and convenient things are here. They can begin to see the flow of what can happen and imagine themselves walking into what’s next. We take […]

I think that one of the most amazing elements of modern funeral service is the ability to integrate technology. Um, it was reflecting on my own experience of, uh, my father dying that I realized that the most meaningful part of that was reconnecting with the story that was his life. I think that technology helps us do that […]

Creativity is, I think, one of the most important skills, um, of a funeral director and it’s one of the most important elements of putting together a memorable memorial event. We did a service for uh, for a lady in the area here. She has collected 3,700 salt and pepper shakers in her life time. […]

There are a number of formalities that Springfield Funeral Home takes serious responsibility for. All funeral homes are agents for Vital Statistics. So it’s our job to gather the pertinent information, uh, register the death and produce a death certificate, so that the family can settle their loved one’s affairs. We, we gather information such […]

I think the role of a funeral director in walking people through this process is – first of all – to be present, um, to be a sense of stability, a sense of “it’s gonna be OK,” a sense of listening, paying attention, understanding and taking our expertise and our knowledge and our experience into […]

A meaningful funeral service accomplishes three things: it accurately reflects the life of the deceased, it meets the needs of the family, and three – it meets the needs of the community. I like to ask leading questions. “Tell me about your mother, your father, your loved one. What are some words to describe them?” […]

Some people ask me, they say, “Well, if I’ve had a death, do I have to deal with a funeral home?” Well, yes. You need to employ the services of a funeral home for the simple reason that, um, we are agents for Vital Statistics and you, you need to dispose of your loved one […]

Just like at a wedding, you know, at a wedding there is the service and then there is the dinner, and then afterwards you actually get to visit and talk with people. It’s the same thing with the funeral. People ask, “Why have a reception? It feels like, Gee, you are having this party after […]

I think in, in our life, there are times when we find that extravagance is appropriate. That could be a first date, uh, that could be something like a wedding or a special anniversary where – in ourselves – we want to give an expression of extravagance because it’s appropriate. Having different selection caskets, as […]

The moment we die, our body begins the process of decomposing. And so it’s important for the care of the body to anticipate public health and safety concerns, not just for staff here at the funeral home, but for the family and for the general public. Embalming isn’t always necessary, and everyone has the option […]

Um, I like to remind people, you know, you are not at your funeral. The impact of your death on those in whom you’ve invested into love and relationship with, ah, it’s really for them. So allowing people to meaningfully engage, “What does it mean now that I’m dead?” Um, that’s an important question and […]

When people ask us, “How is it that I can save money?” Well, a lot of it would come down to, what is important in the funeral or what isn’t. You don’t need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on, on a casket. Um, any type of casket will, will suffice. So that would […]

Um, I always throw up my hands just with my own inability to answer that question, it’s, it’s a range. How much does it cost to get married today? I guess you could go to the Justice of the Peace, pay a license fee and get it done. Um, what are costs of the implications […]

First of all, a service doesn’t need to be religious. The service should reflect the person’s life, the deceased life. Um, if the person was a religious person and, uh, church going, uh, it should reflect that. Where faith, uh, wasn’t a priority or isn’t a priority in a person’s life, those elements are completely […]

Uh, an old funeral director told me once, “Your know, Richard, having a, having a funeral without the body there is like having a, it’s having a wedding, but the bride’s not there. You’ve got a nice picture of her upfront there with the groom. You know, it just, it just doesn’t quite feel the […]

When the executor comes in, if there are some changes to those prearrangements that they would like to make, uh, yes, they can make changes. What can’t be changed, uh – at least under law in BC – would be your stated, uh, preference for disposition, that being either burial or cremation. Um, on the […]

A funeral prearrangement is definitely one component of a well done estate plan, and definitely goes beyond just funeral arranging. And it’s important, uh, in your planning to have a current Will. Uh, managing and keeping that up to date, naming an executor – someone who is going to be your voice – once you’ve […]

Certainly, when considering the environment in funeral planning, there is – I think – some tradeoffs for people. Um, certainly cremation is very popular. However with cremation there are some significant environmental impacts. From the, the burning of fossil fuels to the generation of heat in our atmosphere. Quite a bit of Natural Gas is used in […]

Some of the disadvantages of, of prearranging – there really aren’t too, too many – but, you know, people think, “Well, I might not be living here when I pass away.” Or, “I might change my mind.” Well, with the prearrangement, it’s still yours. You can still come in and make changes at any time. […]

I think that, uh, pre-planning for an eventuality is just wise. We see that in so many areas of our lives where we purchase insurance, in case a disaster happens. Well, death will happen. Pre-planning is something that, that you can do that is a huge benefit to your family. When family members come in […]

The reason that we want to plan a service – um, and call it what you like: a celebration of life, a memorial event, um, a funeral, a traditional funeral, a grave-site service – you know, there are so many terms out there, but the key element is to establish for a group of people a moment […]

A traditional funeral service accomplished wonderful things for people in the past. And I think letting go of all of the elements of that is really robbing ourselves of some of the richness of what we’ve known. Of some of the richness of the experience of our grandparents, and the key is making it relevant […]

There is even now a new thing that’s been coming out that we’ve started to contemplate. It’s called Alkaline Hydrolysis. It’s a natural, biological form of cremation. It’s similar to cremation in that a body is placed into a chamber or a vault to be broken down into our mineral component – our most basic component – […]

One of the benefits of cremation is that you choose what you would like to do with those cremains. My suggestion to any person asking what to do with cremated remains, is whatever is in your heart. Whatever gives you comfort. So quite often family members will keep the cremains at home in something that looks like […]

When considering the scattering of ashes, you need to realize that you either are dealing with public property, public lands or you are dealing with private lands. You are not allowed to mark the place unless it’s a cemetery. They don’t want people coming across or buying a piece of land that later on has […]

When a deceased person is cremated, uh, some type of container is required by law for the remains to be placed in. You don’t need a traditional casket for cremation, but you do need what’s called a cremation casket. So that’s something that is, is not as elaborate as a burial casket as far as […]

When families are making the decision of Burial vs. Cremation, it is a very personal choice. Both procedures are a form of – the word be disposition – how is the body cared for or disposed of. Cremation definitely has its benefits as far as holding off on a service until family members can, can […]

The idea of memorialzing is very important because it is about a place. Um, when someone dies, their memory – even in us – fades, over time. A place, where human remains are kept and cared for, for perpetuity, is what memorialization is about. The importance of it, I think is most – at least in […]

You know, when people tell us, “What I really want to have is a Celebration of Life.” I couldn’t agree more. A Celebration of Life is another name for a funeral – with a particular focus. I think for most people it, it communicates a sense of “We are wanting something that’s not sad. We are […]

In my mind, a funeral service involves something with the presence of the deceased in the event. Open or closed casket, in regards to that. A private viewing perhaps before for family, intimate friends. A memorial means that the body has already been buried – or has already been cremated – and the service is in their […]

There are a lot of things that need to happen, a lot of decisions that need to be made. If some of those core decisions are made in advance then clearly, you know, having that down in writing, having communicated that well with your family, establishes a framework in which we will then be able […]

Goodness gracious. I don’t know what normal would look like. I don’t know if my grief when my dad died was normal. I just know that I had it, and that I wanted to embrace it, and that I wanted it to be real, and I wanted it to go deep. I would say there […]

You know, the emotions around a service are a difficult time. When engaging emotions at a public event, I think most people try to stay collect. And that that’s appreciated – really by everyone. Where, however, an emotional response is given, calmness is usually the best response. At least for me as a funeral director, […]

My son’s great grandmother passed away – my grandmother. I had told him, on a Monday morning after she passed, that great grandmother died and went to Heaven to be with Jesus. We had gathered family together to celebrate her 95th birthday a few day hence, and um, so there were a lot of people […]

I think that kids should come to a funeral. We need to find a way of including them in this funeral or memorial or a celebration of life – whatever we want to call it. Because children need to understand what death is. There is an age appropriateness, I think, that needs to be considered. Rule of […]

Good question. What to say, what’s most appropriate at a funeral. I think it’s probably not so much what you say, but who you are and what you bring to that moment. I think that sometimes it’s better to say less and to listen more. I really don’t think that you have any answers that […]

I think the most important thing that anyone can bring to a service really is yourself. It’s your presence that communicates the most. Coming to a funeral service with time, not having restrictions on when you have to leave but coming there and a card is always nice. Families really appreciate, when all is said and done, […]

Where no specific requests are given, I think just dressing conservatively is safe. If you know the culture and the dressing styles of the people that will be in attendance, then, you know, dress accordingly. There aren’t rules. There aren’t hard and fast rules. Generally, nowadays, in the Okanagan, I see people come to funerals […]

The event itself has some important elements to it. And they are all equally as important to making it a good death experience. I think one of them, in sort of a very traditional sense is a recognition of, and a care for, and a goodbye to the body. There’s the initial shock, right, of the passing. You call […]

“Every single person that we came in contact at the funeral home was very professional, very genuine, very caring, went the extra mile. It was really very heart-warming, very comforting, and really quite a lovely experience.”

“One of the boys lived right across the street from me, up in Shannon Woods. And, uh, we were only up there for about 2 years, and this one day I was out shovelling the driveway, because Ray had kind of lost the ability for balance and that. And the plow came by and dumped […]

“When we first moved to Kelowna – 21 years ago – the Henseleit family were very special to us and helped us getting settled and became very good friends. So naturally – at our time of need  – who do you look to but good friends.”

“And then they have a Christmas gathering for the people that they’ve lost their loved ones.” “We were invited to come together with other people who had lost loved ones during the year, and Christmas is a difficult time for many families. And so we were able to come together.” “You can bring your family […]

“Uh, the counselling that they provide here is, is amazing.” “They have a letter that goes out and it explained that Clair Jantzen would, um, have a ten-week course, minimum fee, and if you’d like to come and join in in a grief sharing group.” “And Clair was very, very wonderful facilitator.” “Little by little, […]

“They don’t just leave you after the funeral is over. They check on you for a whole year after.” “One of the things that helped a lot was, they, they sent out booklets at regular times.” “My mom received, um, different, different books, in the different stages of grief. So that was really important. It […]

“It’s important to have family and friends around at a time like that.” “Dad had 8 grand kids. And they actually have an amazing, they had an amazing experience with the whole family and support and seeing all the community people gathered to pay their respects to, to my dad.” “It gives you healing, especially when […]