Frequent Questions

A Funeral is a celebration of a life that has been lived, as well as a sociological statement that a death has occurred. This provides a confirmation of reality in the grief process and allows for a climate of mourning. Also, it gives an opportunity for there to be an acknowledgement of your relationship with the individual. Planning a personalized ceremony, helps to begin the healing process. This is also needed by others in their grief process, as they wish to express their own condolences and provide community support by paying their respects. 

The first step is to select a funeral home. Notify them of where the death has taken place at. They will arrange for your loved one to be transferred into their care. To contact Reflections Funeral Services, please call 780.581.1550 if you have not already done so. We will set up an arrangement time that works best for your family.

To prepare for arrangements, we will be asking you the following pertaining to Vital Statistics:

• Their full legal name:
• Usual residence:
• Name of their spouse:
• Their occupation, before retirement: 
• Their Birthdate:
• Their Birthplace:
• Name of their father:
• Father’s birthplace:
• Name of their mother (maiden name):
• Mother’s birthplace:
• Their Social Insurance Number:
• Their Alberta Health Care Number: 

Town Notices: The funeral home produces “town cards” that we disperse throughout Vermilion and applicable communities. For this we ask that you bring a photo of the individual and the family tree information concerning who the deceased would be survived by and predeceased by. We will also ask if there is a preferred charity for memorial donations.

Obituary: We can submit newspaper obituaries upon your family’s request. 

Disposition: Please consider if you would like to proceed with cremation or burial.

Viewing: Discuss if you would like to do a viewing. Select clothing that you would like for them to be dressed in. Also, we require permission to proceed with embalming, if applicable.

Service: Discuss the location, preferable date and time of service, clergy / officiant (if there is not a preferred member of clergy, we do have individuals within our funeral home who are able to officiate services and adjust the service to your preferences), eulogy speaker, any other forms of personalized tribute (musical, scripture reading, poems, personal memories, open mike), hymn / music selections (average three song selections), slideshow / photo tribute (can be completed by our facility), memorabilia, pallbearers, cemetery location, reception location, preferred caterer, and menu preferences. 

If you request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say good-bye, that’s perfectly acceptable. Your funeral director will come when the time is right.

Viewing can be an asset in the grieving process, as it provides a sense of reality that the death has happened. A cause of death usually approaches in two fashions, either a long-drawn battle with failing health or a sudden passing. In both scenarios, a viewing can provide that opportunity to give family serenity. When the deceased had suffered through an illness or physical changes, we try to restore a healthier, more peaceful appearance of that individual. When the passing is unexpected, a viewing is an opportunity for family and friends to say goodbye and express their emotions in their loved one’s presence. In both cases, it provides a sense of comfort for many. Viewing is also encouraged for children, if the process is explained and voluntary.

The purpose of embalming is to sanitize and preserve the body, as well as enhance the appearance of the deceased. This provides the opportunity to extend the time between the time of passing until the final disposition.

Embalming is not usually legally required if burial or cremation takes place within 72 hours of the death, but each funeral home has their own policies concerning embalming for the safety of their staff and the public.

In certain cases, where a communicable disease is present, embalming is not permitted by law and the body is placed in a sealed metal-lined container instead.

If the body is transported across a provincial boundary, embalming is required by law.

It really depends entirely on how you wish to commemorate a life. One of the advantages of cremation is that it provides you with increased flexibility when you make your funeral and cemetery arrangements. You might, for example, choose to have a funeral service before the cremation; a memorial service at the time of cremation or after the cremation with the urn present; or a committal service at the final disposition of cremated remains. Funeral or memorial services can be held in a place of worship, a funeral home or in a crematory chapel.

Cremated remains can be buried, placed in a columbarium niche, stored / displayed at home, or scattered. As there is the possibility of distributing the cremated remains in portions, it provides many opportunities to personalize your experience.

Burial can be done in an existing grave/s in which other family members have been buried or a new plot can be purchased.

Columbarium niches are available with the Public Cemetery with the Town of Vermilion. The niches available can store two urns and include engraving of the names on the niche front.

Cremated remains can be released to the family as well. As such, they can proceed in storage of the urn or have the option to scatter. Scattering of cremated remains is usually permitted on Crown and publicly owned lands but permission must be obtained ahead of time in all cases. In national parks, scattering cremated remains in water is prohibited, but remains can be “cast to the wind”. In provincial parks, forests and wilderness areas scattering is allowed anywhere, but permission is required to scatter remains over lakes and rivers.

Some cemeteries have special areas where cremated remains can be scattered and individual plaques may be placed there.

There are several important issues to consider before scattering, as scattering of cremated remains is permanent and cannot be reversed.

• There is no permanent place to identify with the deceased and if done on private property, it may be sold in future years.
• There may be restrictions at parks, lakes, and such places and they may not be accessible in the future. There is also no guarantee that the location will be in the same condition in the future.
• There is likely not a way to place a marker to identify the scattering location for future generations.

Keepsake urns and memorial jewelry are a common practice of providing multiple individuals with their own amount of cremated remains. There are some unique methods of personalizing your memorialization as well. These possibilities include: creating a memorial tree, placing into fireworks, placing in helium balloons, creating coral reef, creating a diamond, hand blown glass, glass paperweights, used in tattoo ink, or used in paintings.

If you wish to have your ashes scattered somewhere, it is important to discuss your wishes to be scattered ahead of time with the person or persons who will actually have to do the cremation ashes scattering ceremony, as they might want to let your funeral professional assist in the scattering ceremony. Funeral directors can also be very helpful in creating a meaningful and personal ash scattering ceremony that they will customize to fit your families specific desires. The services can be as formal or informal as you like. Scattering services can also be public or private. Again, it is advisable to check for local regulations regarding scattering in a public place-your funeral director can help you with this.

Yes — Depending upon the cemetery's policy, you may be able to save a grave space by having the cremains buried on top of the casketed remains of your spouse, or utilize the space provided next to him/her. Many cemeteries allow for multiple cremated remains to be interred in a single grave space.

Uncertainty about income tax issues can add to the stress experienced from the death of a spouse. You should meet with your family attorney and/or tax advisor as soon as possible to review your particular tax and estate circumstances. Bring a detailed list of your questions to the meeting.