Serenity funeral home obituary column3/20/2024 Not talked about is the weakening of family ties created by distance, fewer siblings, little contact with both immediate and extended families. “How many times,” points out Howdle, “does an obituary say, ‘No service, by dad and the family’s request’?” Some seniors themselves don’t want funerals or wakes - especially when there’s no belief in an after-life. ![]() “It’s as if (adult) children don’t want to mourn the passing of parents. But then independents grew their market share by buying up other local funeral homes. In the ’90s, most independents were bought by multinational funeral companies such as SCI and Arbor. The average, suggests Howdle, is about $12,000 for a funeral and burial, $6,000 for funeral and cremation. The price can range from $1,000 for a simple cremation, to $35,000. In Edmonton, Park Memorial and Connelly-McKinley come to mind.īut today, 15 funeral companies - many with multiple locations - vie for the business. full-service multi-generational family-owned funeral homes. Families laid successive generations to rest through one funeral home. Years ago, five or six funeral homes handled most of the business. The proverbial pine box coffin at Serenity Funeral Service costs $400.GRAHAM HICKS/Edmonton Sun A fancier coffin at Serenity Funeral Service will cost in the neighbourhood of $3500. Something has to be done with human remains - in keeping with the laws of the land. Still: In Greater Edmonton, some 8,000 people die every year. ![]() Those under 40 are almost fighting tradition, suggests Howdle, ignoring or rejecting historical family values. In general: Those over 80 want a traditional funeral those 60 to 80 are challenging tradition those 40 to 60 are far less religious, less culturally oriented and oft-married - all tending to informal cremation at death. Many of today’s baby boomers are the first seniors never exposed, their entire lives, to organized religion.ĭemographics, Howdle suggests, provide insight. Today’s funeral rites are intertwined with family complexity, with movement away from church, temple, mosque and synagogue. Much depends on tradition, ethnicity and religious belief. ![]() Today, one’s head spins with the death options: Secular, religious, cremation (reducing the body to ashes through burning), burial, funeral with casket, funeral without casket, no funeral, a memorial service with prayers, or a gathering to celebrate a life well-led without reference to God.
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