Resources

Helping families cope with a major loss is a funeral director's most important job. From the first call, day or night, we arrange the transfer of your loved one into our care and complete the documentation. We guide you through your decisions, contact the church, clergy, musicians, hall, caterer and cemetery for you, prepare everything the service needs, place the obituary, and complete the paperwork — registering the death with Vital Statistics, notifying the Canada Pension Plan, and helping with the CPP Death Benefit and Survivorship Benefit.

The first step is to choose a funeral home and tell them where the death has taken place; they will arrange for your loved one to be brought into their care. To contact Prairie Sunset Funeral Home, call 780.349.5006 and we will set up an arrangement time that works best for your family. To prepare, we will ask for vital statistics (full legal name, residence, spouse, occupation, birthdate and birthplace, parents' names and birthplaces, Social Insurance Number and Alberta Health Care Number), and whether you would like burial or cremation, a viewing, and an obituary.

A viewing can be an asset in the grieving process, as it provides a sense of reality that the death has happened. After a long illness we try to restore a healthier, more peaceful appearance; after a sudden passing, a viewing is a chance for family and friends to say goodbye in their loved one's presence. Viewing is also encouraged for children, if the process is explained and voluntary.

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body and enhances the appearance of the deceased, which extends the time before the final disposition. It is not usually legally required if burial or cremation takes place within 72 hours, though each funeral home has its own policies. Where a communicable disease is present, embalming is not permitted and a sealed container is used instead. If the body is transported across a provincial boundary, embalming is required by law.

Cremated remains can be buried, placed in a columbarium niche, kept at home, or scattered — and because they can be divided, there are many ways to personalize a memorial. Columbarium niches are available with the Town of Westlock. Scattering is usually permitted on Crown and public land with permission obtained ahead of time, and the rules differ in national and provincial parks. Scattering is permanent, so consider it carefully. Keepsake urns and memorial jewelry let several people keep a portion.