Funeral Options

"Something"

During Covid-19, the need to say goodbye with a gathering, to do "something," was curtailed. While visitations, ceremonies and celebrations were still allowed, some decided to postpone.  These restrictions have made us all appreciate the privilege of getting together with others for "something." To that end, we have kept families as safe as possible: see our Covid-19 page.

Funeral Services 

Pricing & Packages explained

​Goodbye Gatherings (a.k.a. "Funeral", "Celebration of Life," "Visitation," or "Graveside Service")

• Are available with Cremation or Burial
• May be held soon after the death or a long time after the death
• Postponed the funeral? We have four Closure Ceremonies to help you heal
• Honours, recognizes and celebrates the life of the deceased
• Provides consolation to family and friends through ritual: a space and time to process.
• If livestreamed, allows friends, community and family all around the world to say their last good-byes

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Funeral, Memorial Service, or Celebration of Life

The Funeral, Memorial Service or Celebration of Life may be held in our onsite chapel or in our Celebration Centre, or at a church or hall of choice. The service may be public or private. Our Celebrant is available to lead, as are members of the Clergy, or an emcee from your circle.

A Funeral Director oversees the service and directs all aspects. Our staff receives family and friends, collects donations and cards, delivers flowers and attends to any special needs. A Funeral Director co-ordinates the funeral procession and interment service, or the delivery of the cremated remains and the final disposition. 

Graveside Service

As its name implies, a graveside service is held at the grave site just prior to burial of a casket or inurnment of cremated remains. It usually consists of final remarks, prayers or memories. Our Celebrant is available to lead, as are members of the Clergy, or an emcee from your circle. The service may occur immediately after, months after, or in place of a chapel service. 

LIVE STREAMING

All gatherings may be watched on an interactive website in real time. Before and during the ceremony, your online guests will be encouraged to easily upload photos, sign a digital guest book, share a story and chat with others reflecting on the person for whom you shared affection.  The service and all the pictures, memories, and stories will be recorded and available for you to cherish for as long as you choose. The guests who were present at the physical gathering will also have 72 hours to log on and contribute to the photobook, guestbook, stories etc.  

We will also livestream services at in our Celebration Centre, at churches, gravesides, or other venues as you wish. Livestreamed services are automatically recorded and will be available by clicking the link on the obituary for many months. USBs of the gathering are included in our Livestream fee; otherwise they are available for $50. 

We partner with a Canadian company, "Forget Me Not Ceremonies," designed solely for funeral livestreaming. 

Making the Arrangements

The licensed Funeral Directors at James Reid Funeral Home are available for consultation every day of the week. Our Funeral Directors  meet with family and friends to:

• review any prearrangements
• discuss wishes
• design a gathering
• learn about what is required by law.

James Reid Funeral Home provides a quiet, sensitive setting for making funeral arrangements. We also have virtual documents that may be signed via Docusign for contactless arrangements. All details are attended to personally, including the co-ordination with hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, cemeteries, clergy, and newspapers.

Service Options

There are simple and creative ways to personalize a Funeral or Memorial service or a Celebration of Life:

Catered food and refreshments can satisfy your family and guests. Favourite foods can be served. Music may be played digitally or live. Comfortable sofas and chairs are arranged as in a living room for your relaxation. Natural light comes in through many windows. 

A DVD may play images of the deceased over the years, capturing memories of passions and relationships. The TV screen sits atop a fireplace. 

The stationery may be chosen to reflect hobbies such as gardening or fishing (photos below).
People may talk about their memories or read a poem. Video recordings may be played.
Visitation in a suite may precede the service, with memory boards covered in photographs.
A reception may follow with photographs, refreshments, and, if desired, alcohol.
A graveside service may take the family and guests to a cemetery for burial or inurnment.

Visitation or Private Family Gathering

A visitation allows relatives and friends and acquaintances to support and encourage the bereaved. A visitation gives family more time to greet more people, and gives people more opportunities to pay their respects. The deceased may be there in a casket or urn if wished.   

A private family gathering allows those closest to the deceased private time to say goodbye. A family gathering may include a clergy to offer the comfort of ritual  It may include the deceased in a casket or cremation container or urn. This is usually a time of less than an hour.

James Reid Funeral Home is wheelchair accessible and includes a spacious lobby, large and cozy suites, and a lounge with refreshments. Our staff are trained in Health and Safety, prepared for any events that may occur. Our facilities are designed as attractive, comforting spaces, furnished by James Reid Furniture

Required Documentation

For your convenience and in accordance with legal requirements, Funeral Directors

• register the death
• obtain burial/cremation permits
• provide Funeral Director’s Statements of Death for Estate purposes

All necessary documentation is provided for promptly.

Reception

Following the service, friends and family may walk into the James Reid Reception & Celebration Centre, an open, spacious, and comfortably furnished room with many windows. The funeral home staff will have set up the Reception Centre with your flowers, photographs, and memorabilia, as well as any DVDs to play on the screen above the fireplace. 

Our hostesses provide hot beverages, china and napkins to go along with your own refreshments, or catering is available, with or without alcoholic beverages. 

This informal time of hospitality may also occur at a church, hall, or restaurant. If so, James Reid staff may drive the family there and direct others where to go. In some cases, our hostesses may also serve at a reception off-site

Automobiles

Trained staff, vehicle and equipment are employed to transfer the deceased person from the place of death to the funeral home.Families may be picked up at home in our limousines, as well as driven to and from the funeral home for a church or graveside service.

Funeral Coach:  A custom manufactured hearse of highest quality is provided for dignified transportation of the deceased to the cemetery or crematorium.

Lead Car: The funeral director and clergy are transported in a sedan car for the procession or for the return and delivery of personal cremated remains.​

Limousines: Limousines seat seven people, and is driven by one of our courteous staff drivers. If the family wishes, limousines can accommodate the pallbearers, and/or seven family members.

Stationery Package

This provides a printed record of this often difficult-to-remember day. It includes a Visitor Register Book, personalized In Memoriam Cards and/or Prayer Cards, Clergy Records, and Thank You cards. These help families express appreciation for those who sent floral tributes and memorial donations. Custom printing is provided on all stationery.