When death is not expected

If the death was not expected, the police must be notified immediately.  The police will be dispatched to the place of death and call the medical examiner.  From there the medical examiner will determine whether further action is necessary before releasing the body to the funeral home.

When a death is expected

Call Beaverlodge Funeral Service and we will come to bring your loved one into our care.  If you are present at the hospital when the funeral director arrives, they may ask a few questions about the deceased wishes and set up a time to come into the funeral home to make arrangements.

Meeting a Funeral Director

You should meet with a funeral director as soon as possible after a death to begin to make final arrangements for your loved one.  Funeral directors are here to help you obtain a death certificate, transport the body, and in the event pre-planning was not done, select a casket/urn and arrange the funeral/memorial service. We are here to help and advise you and will work very hard to relieve the stress and logistics involved in funeral planning. Deciding on these final arrangements may seem like a very daunting task, especially when you are in a heightened emotional state, but funeral home staff have years of experience dealing with these issues, and strive to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Making Arrangements

The Funeral Director will gather information required to register the death.  This includes:

• Full Legal Name and Address (physical address)
• Marital Status
• Date and City of Birth
• Social Insurance Number, Driver's Licence Number, Personal Healthcare Number
• Occupation
• Father’s Name, Mother’s Name (including maiden name) and their birthplaces
• Name of Spouse (if married or widowed)

The funeral director will also need pertinent documents required to do all the legal paperwork, those documents include:

• Copy of Birth Certificate
• Social Insurance Number
• Marriage Certificate (if applicable)
• Last Will

If no pre-planning has 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
• Selecting burial or cremation
• Choosing Funeral Products
• Arranging a cemetery plot
• Preparing an obituary notice
• Scheduling transportation arrangements

A funeral director 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. The service can be personalized to reflect your loved one's personality.  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.