Shhhh! Don’t talk about it, pretend it didn’t happen, and carry on. Maybe if you ignore it or stay busy, it’ll go away. Time heals all wounds. Distracting ourselves with busyness, offering trite, but unhelpful sayings, and avoiding contact, are all common ways many’ve learned to deal with the uncomfortable truth…. Life is a terminal […]

As the Coronavirus spreads across North America and our daily lives are transformed, we all must be aware of the need for good mental-health care. Obviously, it’s a stressful time. Families are confined to their homes. School is cancelled. Many businesses are closed. Workers are being laid off en masse, causing financial distress. And then […]

The cost of a funeral in Canada can range from $1,000 to $15,000, while the price of a wedding can be well over $20,000. Both involve many of the same details: a ceremony, a reception, food, flowers, and legal documents. Like a wedding, a funeral involves a lot of decision making. What makes planning a […]

You’ve been asked to deliver a eulogy for a loved one’s funeral. The first thought is panic, followed by questions about where to start, what to say, and whether you can get through your words without breaking down. Fear and uncertainty are valid feelings when asked to write and deliver a eulogy for someone that […]

An empty chair at the dinner table. A cherished ornament on the tree. A favourite carol played on the radio. While Christmas is a time for family and for remembering, it can also trigger immense sadness when a loved one is no longer present. The death of a spouse, parent, sibling, grandparent, child, friend, or […]

Planning a funeral for a loved one is not only an emotional experience, but it can be overwhelming for those who don’t know where to start. Not only do you need to think about how to honour and memorialize someone who has meant so much to those around him or her, but there are also […]

“No service by request.” It’s a line that at times appears at the end of an obituary denoting a request by a loved one that no funeral service be held after his or her death. It’s a simple four-word line that can carry serious implications for those left behind in their grief. It also brings […]

Grief is anything but predictable, and in a culture where grief is taboo, it’s no wonder it’s difficult to find the right words or truly help someone who has experienced a deep, deep loss. To help us understand what a grieving person really needs, we’ve interviewed internationally renowned grief counsellor Dr. Bill Webster, who will […]

I was born in Vernon, BC in 1969. My father established the Pleasant Valley Funeral Home there in approximately 1975.  At the early age of 6 I was hanging around the funeral home during its construction, and also after its completion.  The life of a Funeral Director/Owner is definitely tied to the business and there […]

– – – I find such meaning in what I do!  Recently I met with the spouse of a young woman who passed away from a rare type of cancer which just so happened to be the same cancer that my spouse passed away from 15 years ago.      – – – – – Such […]

  Today I was interviewing. We have a growing family here at the funeral home. A young lady on our staff is expecting her 3rd and we need to fill a few gaps during her leave. The thought occurred to me –as a leader of our company and in light of the fact that we […]

Laying to rest…. I think these words are meant just as much as the survivors as the deceased.  Laying a person to rest allows the family to be at rest, knowing that they have taken care of the person they loved up until the last possible moment. I’ve heard people say, “It’s just a body, they’re not there anymore.”  […]

We deal with a lot of sensitive subjects here at the funeral home. Death is a very sensitive subject in and of itself. One particularly sensitive subject with a lot of the families we talk to is that of children and death. More specifically, should children attend funerals and be included in the discussion about […]

On a recent trip to Europe with my family, we enjoyed a wonderful day biking in the Tuscany region of Italy. As we left the city of Florence, we noticed the landscape was dotted with estates, vineyards and olive groves, this area reminded me so much of our Okanagan/Naramata region.  With it being a very […]

I recently was asked by a good friend to give a talk to her third year psychology class.  My topic of conversation, you guessed it  Death.  Specifically though I spoke about dealing with grieving families in the minutes and days after their loved one has died.  This is that unique experience that takes all of […]

Spring is here.  What a beautiful natural way of reminding us of the cycle of life.  Old growth still present, soon returning to the earth with warming temperatures nurturing new life set to build on the foundation of all that came before it.  New buds are on trees and small spikes of green emerging from […]