Transcription:
Families that have talked to one another in advance and made plans and made arrangements will often do better through the initial stages of the pending death and then the death and then the burial because they know what the person wanted, they know what their wishes were, things have been set out, things have been paid for, so it makes it a lot easier for the survivors of that person to go through the steps that need to be done for the funeral and the burial. As well, what I think is the greatest gift for family members, for survivors, is that they get to carry out the wishes of their loved one. If that person wanted to be buried in such and such cemetery, if they wanted this funeral arrangement, if they wanted this funeral chapel, that was all told to them, that was all spelled out in advance, so they don’t have to think. They pick up the phone, they make the phone call, and they put into place whatever that person who died wanted. That’s a huge relief for the family and allows them to start grieving right away. They don’t have to worry about all these different things they need to decide on. They can start grieving, and that’s a huge benefit to the family. So, over the years, as an example, I’ve received calls from people whose family member is in palliative care and is likely to die soon. They have no clue what that person had in place. Did they have a burial right at any cemetery or not? Did they have arrangements with the funeral chapel or not? So, it’s a very difficult time to start finding out answers. Really hard to do that. If someone is dying and is no longer responsive, they’re not going to be able to tell you what they wanted. The time to have those discussions is where everyone’s well. My favourite thing is greeting people when they come in to buy burial rights from us in advance. They’re healthy, they’re well. And my attitude is, they should be coming here to make arrangements the way they make their will and their powers of attorney. We’re part of their estate planning. I don’t care if it’s our cemetery or another. I don’t care if it’s this chapel or another. Just make your arrangements and let them be known to people you trust and you love so they know what to do at the time of death. It’s a huge benefit.