Every person who comes through the doors of Brockie Donovan receives the same attentive service. First and foremost, we listen to you, provide suggestions if you need them, and offer heartfelt compassion.We have come to learn that variations in funerals can be influenced by religious and cultural traditions, and personal preferences. What one family may consider to be the perfect funeral service, may not be acceptable to another family. Further to that, one could easily view what one may consider a simple funeral service, as elaborate. For that very reason we at Brockie Donovan, treat each family we serve as unique. Our Funeral Directors are not just “order-takers,” they are trained to listen and respond to each family’s unique needs and wishes.
Remember This: Whether you request a funeral with a casket or cremation, visitation or no visitation, a memorial service, a graveside service or simply a gathering of friends at our George Brockie Fellowship Centre, it is still a Funeral Service. The objective and purpose is still the same: To recognize that a life has been lived, to provide an environment to express our loss and grief, to allow our family and friends to remember and honor the life that was lived, while having the support of others.
We are honored to offer the following services:
A traditional funeral involves the body of the deceased being present in a casket for the funeral service. If the family so desire, a time of visitation and viewing for family and friends may be held the evening prior to the service or the day of the service. The funeral service may take place at your place of worship, a private facility, or at our funeral chapel. Flowers, personal music, picture collages, video tributes, personal items that speak of the life that was lived, may all be used to personalize the funeral service. Burial or cremation usually follows the service. An informal gathering of family and friends may take place afterwards at a private facility or at the George Brockie Fellowship Centre. Here, a time of visiting and refreshments may be shared by all in attendance.
Direct burial includes local transfer of the deceased to the funeral home, required authorizations, services of funeral director and staff, transportation of the deceased to local area cemetery. Our prices do not include cemetery charges.
If your loved one dies far from home, we will help you return their body to you. And, should you wish a loved one returned to their birthplace, or to another location for interment or entombment, we can make all the arrangements for you. Call us to discuss your needs.
Every family is unique. We listen not only with our ears, but with our hearts and will consider all your financial and emotional constraints in designing a funeral or memorial service that suits your needs. No matter what your budget or your vision for your loved one’s service, we’re here to help.
This type of service is usually selected when cremation has taken place. Prior to the cremation, the family may wish to have a time of visitation and viewing to pay their final respects and say a final farewell. The service can be held at your place of worship, a private facility, or at our chapel. Most families choose to have the urn, which contains the cremated remains, present for the funeral service. In most cases, a memory table is placed at the front of the church, chapel, or room where the gathering will take place. On this table, one may place the urn, flowers, a picture, and personal items that speak of who the person was, what was important to them, and what they enjoyed doing, (fishing rod, gardening tools, home-made crafts, a collage of pictures that show a summary of important events throughout the persons life).
As with all of the services we offer, our expert staff will help your family design a truly memorable memorial service that reflects the life of your loved one.
Additionally, we will work with your family to plan a suitable service that suits your budget. After all, we believe that you shouldn't have to pay a fortune to celebrate the treasured life of your loved one.
To learn more about the wide variety of memorial service options we offer, give us a call. One of our caring staff members will guide you through the array of memorial services we offer and help you plan a truly distinctive service for your loved one.
The family elects to take their loved one directly to the crematory, without a funeral or memorial service. It is our intention that you or your loved one receives the services you desire – no more, and no less. Should direct cremation be your choice, our staff will provide you with a suitable cremation container, and assist you in taking your loved one to the crematorium. Should you desire to accompany your loved one to our local crematorium, we would be honoured to facilitate this decision.
A Funeral is a time to remember and to celebrate the life of your loved one.
Today, a funeral can be as special as the individual who is being remembered. You may wish to display personal photographs reflecting the various times and events throughout their life, or have a theme reflecting your loved ones hobbies and personality. Regardless what you have in mind, our people are prepared to assist in arranging the details, accordingly to your wishes.
Here are a few questions that may help you when considering how to personalize your loved ones funeral:
Suggestions for including your loved ones favorite hobbies and past times within the funeral service:
Displaying their sporting equipment, gardening tools, books, homemade crafts etc.
Place a reminder of their hobby on the casket or urn (golf club – home made quilt etc.)
Have a display showing the various recognitions, awards and trophies they received
Create a picture collage board showing them active in their hobbies
Having Brockie Donovan produce a DVD tribute using your family photographs – and having the video shown during the funeral service or memorial reception.
Reflect on what made them who they were, what made them special to their family and friends. Display or incorporate:
Jars of Mom’s famous homemade jam
Quilts and other home made crafts
Furniture made by Dad
Flowers from their garden or arrange for a local florist to have an arrangement of your loved ones favorite flowers present for the funeral service.
Play their favorite music pieces before and during the funeral service
Instead of having a poem on the memorial card – place mom’s favorite recipe on the back for all those in attendance to really have something to cherish and be reminded of her.
Honor Guards from Legions and Service Clubs
Display Military medals for a member of the Canadian Armed forces or allied forces
Display your loved ones favorite motorcycle or cars outside where the funeral service is being held
Display skis, golf clubs and other sporting equipment for an outdoor enthusiast
Dove releases
Balloon release
Fellow members of sporting and/or service clubs to act as Casket or honorary bearers
Have pillar candles lit within the funeral service by each surviving generation within the family (example: son, grandson, great-grandson son)
Yes. Basically there are two ways in which this can be done. Firstly, the viewing could take place the day/evening before the service, cremation would follow, and then the cremated remains would be available for the service the next day. An alternate choice would be to have the viewing, then have the body present for the service with the cremation following the service.
Generally speaking, cremation can be a less expensive choice than casket burial; however, it greatly depends on the type of service requested as well as the merchandise selected. There are a wide range of caskets and urns to meet varying budgets.
No. Some families choose to take the cremated remains home in an urn that would remain in their home. Others choose to inter the cremated remains in a columbarium - an above ground niche that would hold the urn. And other families choose to scatter the cremated remains. This can, however, present difficulties for the survivors. Some people may find it hard to simply pour the mortal remains of a loved one out onto the ground or over a lake. If you wish to be scattered somewhere, it is therefore important to discuss your wishes ahead of time with the person or persons who will actually have to do the scattering.
Another difficulty of scattering can occur when the remains are disposed of in an anonymous, unmarked public place. Access to the area may be restricted for some reason in the future, undeveloped land may be developed, or any of a host of other conditions may arise that could make it difficult for your survivors to visit the site to remember you. Even if your cremated remains are scattered in your backyard, what happens if your survivors relocate sometime in the future? Once scattered, cremated remains cannot easily be collected back up. Having your remains interred in a cemetery ensures that future generations will have a place to go to remember.
