Pre-Arranged Funerals

There are so many funeral options available to families today. It takes time to sort through the many aspects of the service to determine what is wanted. All these items should be communicated with your family members to ensure everyone is aware of your preferences. This will also provide a sense of reassurance to your loved ones that everything is taken care of.

From single pay plans to automatic monthly withdrawals designed to meet anyone's budget concerns, our staff would be honored to go over your options without any obligations to pre-pay. However, there are many advantages to pre-paying your funeral arrangements: Often when there is a death in the family the survivor's are financially unprepared to carry the responsibility of the full cost of the funeral.  Funeral costs, like anything today, will rise in the future. Arrangements paid now are guaranteed and protected against this rising cost. This means your family will never be asked to pay for expenses of your funeral other than additions, such as flowers or reception charges. If you would like more information on pre-planning, we would be honored to have you come into the funeral home, or we would go to your home to explain your options.

The most common reasons for prearranging funerals:

1. To let surviving family members know what type of funeral arrangements you want by choosing services and merchandise. 
2. Reduces stress for the family making the arrangements and gives peace of mind to the person pre-planning.
3. Saves money and provides parameters on the amount that should be spent
4. Guarantees the costs so your family will never have to pay more for your funeral, no matter how the costs rise.
5. Shows you care.
6. Relieves your loved ones of the financial responsibility.
7. To avoid problems caused by family separation.

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Post Funeral Information Package

Our post funeral information package contains items intended to help families cope with the many obligations that arise from the funeral and settling of the estate.

The package contains:

• Assistance Guide - general information to help settle estate matters
• Certified copies of Proof of Death Certificate - for bank, insurance and others who require official proof of death (unlimited copies)
• CPP (Canada Pension Plan) Application for death and survivor benefits
• Application for government documents (birth, death, marriage) - available upon request
• Acknowledgment Cards - for pall bearers, clergy, and general thank you cards to thank friends for flowers,donations, gifts of food and other acts of kindness.
• Examples of Card of Thanks notice - for newspaper
• Examples of thank you messages - to personalize notes to friends
• Bereavement Information - support availability within the Niagara Region
• Armstrong Funeral Home Questionnaire - your evaluation of our ability to meet your needs is greatly appreciated
• Returned documents, jewelry, photos, mementoes etc.
• Grief Related Material

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Cremation

Cremation is the process by which a body is exposed to extreme heat, usually 1800 - 2000 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or more. Through this process the body is reduced to its basic elements, which are referred to as the "cremated body" or "cremated remains". Cremation occurs at a crematorium in a special kind of furnace called a cremation chamber or retort. It may surprise many to learn that ashes are not the final result since cremated remains have neither the appearance nor the chemical properties of ashes. They are, in fact, bone fragments. These fragments are further reduced in size through a mechanical process. After preparation, these elements are placed in a temporary container that is suitable for transport. Depending upon the size of the body, there are normally three to nine pounds of fragments resulting.

Is a casket required for a cremation to take place?
A casket is not required for a cremation to take place. All that is required is an alternative container. The construction may be made of wood or cardboard, which is cremated with the body.

Is it required for an embalming to take place prior to cremation?
This is completely untrue. Actually it is against the law for a funeral home to tell you it is required. Armstrong Funeral Home only requires embalming when there will be viewing of the body.

Do most funeral homes perform cremations?
In Ontario, most funeral homes have to contract out this very vital process to third party providers where the funeral home has very small or no control over the crematory's operating procedures. Often, the family incurs additional transportation operating cost and unnecessary delays. Several funeral homes in this area take their deceased out of town for cremation, traveling a few hours with your loved one. At the Armstrong Funeral Home we use a local crematorium – Pleasantview located in Fonthill. In other provinces of Canada, funeral homes and crematoriums are operating on the same property, and legislation is being changed so this can take place in Ontario.

What usually happens after the cremation is completed?
All organic bone fragments and all non-consumed metal items are placed into a stainless steel cooling pan located in the back of the cremation chamber. All non-consumed items, such as metal from clothing, hip joints, and bridgework, are divided from the cremated remains. This separation is accomplished through visual inspection as well as using a strong magnet for smaller and minute metallic objects. Items such as dental gold and silver are non-recoverable and are commingled in with the cremated remains. Remaining bone fragments are then processed in a machine to a consistent size and placed into a temporary or permanent urn, selected by the family.

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Professional Service Charges

At the Armstrong Funeral Home we allow families to make choices which makes them feel comfortable and at ease.  That is why we offer our families a list of “choices” in terms of the type of funeral they would desire.  Whether it is your traditional church service, memorial service or simply a graveside service we allow you to choose the type of funeral you want at a competitive, affordable price.  Funerals are based on choices and your choices alone will determine the actual price of the funeral.

To help customers understand exactly what funeral homes are charging, each funeral establishment must be able to provide (by law) an itemized price list of its services and merchandise they offer.  Many people make assumptions based on advice that is given to them by their peers.  We encourage people to drop by our funeral home, simply to say “Hello.”  This will give you a chance to view our facilities as well as picking up a copy of our price list at no charge.  We encourage questions because some price lists can be deceiving and until the services and merchandise are explained properly, you then will get a clear cut answer into costs and services provided by our licensed funeral directors.

We also understand that stopping by our funeral home might be challenging due to health, lack of transportation or simply because funeral homes are not your thing.  In these instances we will mail out a full copy of our itemized price list to you and try to assist you by phone, email or in person any way we can.

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