If someone you love is dying, or a death has occurred:


1. Contact the Bay Gardens funeral home at 905-527-0405 (Burlington) or 905-574-0405 (Hamilton). From this point on, the funeral home will be responsible for contacting the hospital or other place of death to ensure that a doctor or coroner has signed the necessary documents required to register the death in the province.
   

2. An appointment will be set up for you and/or your family.  During this first call, the funeral director will ask some questions so they will be better prepared to help you when you arrive at the Bay Gardens funeral home.  The funeral director will ask if there are already pre-planned funeral arrangements in place, as well as questions about choosing clothing and other personal information.

    
3. If you don’t feel comfortable answering those questions right away, simply as to wait until the arrangement meeting with the funeral director takes place.  We ask these questions so we call fill your needs as best we can. However, we want you to be comfortable with each step of the process.

    
4. Upon arrival at the funeral home, you will be greeted by the funeral director and given a tour of the facilities, if desired.  Once the family sits down with the director to organize information, they will be offered a beverage and homemade cookies.  Nothing can change what is happening, but we want families to feel comforted and taken care of as much as possible.



“The First Call To The Funeral Home”


1. The Funeral Director will ask some general questions so they can prepare for your arrival at the funeral home. For example, a funeral director might ask a family if they already have pre-planned arrangements, or if the family needs other immediate support we might assist with.
   

2. A time will be set for the family to come to the funeral home and meet with the funeral director.
    
3. Typically, the funeral director asks some open ended questions to get the family talking about what they have been experiencing over the last number of days.  Our goal is to find out how best the funeral home can help the family.
    
4. Once decisions have been reached by the family, such as “how many visitations did you wish to have, and which type of service” a price list is provided.  The Funeral Director will offer various packages with different pricing options. 

    
5. The Funeral Director also presents the documentation required when a death takes place in Ontario – for example, death registration, a legal document replacing the medical certificate of death with a funeral home proof of death, and any necessary application for cremation or dispositions requested. The funeral director will also provide knowledgeable, up to date information from local cemeteries.
    
6. After this initial meeting, the Funeral Director will take the family into a room where they may view caskets, urns and other applicable products.  Families are given ample notice and before entering the products room with the caskets and urns.  This way the pace is set by the comfort of the family each step of the way.
    
7. At this point the family and the Funeral Director sit together to create the obituary notice and the family decides where to place it and for how long.

    
8. The funeral director will complete a itemized service contract.  This service contract contains information about embalming and the required permissions to do so. Embalming is NOT required by Ontario law, but may be required depending on the services the family has chosen.

    
9. At the conclusion of the arrangement interview, the Funeral Director will review everything that has been discussed outline in detail what the family can expect to occur over the next day or two.
    
10. The Funeral Director will provide a detailed document to help the family recall what has been discussed during their meeting. The family may be introduced to other staff member who will be helping out the course of the next couple of days.

     
11. Depending on the arrangements that have been made, the family may be required to bring back to the funeral home articles such as clothing, pictures, hobby items or other artifacts required for the visitation or service.



Visitation


1. When a family returns to the funeral home for visitation or services, the Funeral Director will ask the family to arrive one hour to 90 minutes prior to the arrival of the public.  This is to help ensure the family has some private time alone with their loved one.  The Funeral Director will greet the family upon their arrival. 

    
2. Generally, the Funeral Director will confirm the family’s request to have the casket open or closed, and allow the family some time to adjust to the environment prior to entering.  Before being shown into the visitation room, the Funeral Director ensures that everyone is prepared for this step.  Then the Funeral Director will gently excuse themselves to give the family as much private time as they require.   The Funeral Director will generally wait outside the room until the family emerges to give him or her further instructions.

    
3. From this point forward, you should expect to see staff greeting visitors, directing visitors to the register book, the washrooms, the coffee lounge, and other facilities.

    
4. At the conclusion of the visitation period, the Funeral Director will talk to the family to discuss what the next day will be like for them.  It may include clearing of some final arrangement details regarding payment, limousine pick up times, cemetery details, meeting back at the funeral home to close the casket privately prior to processing to the church for a Mass or service and other details.  The intent is to make certain the families are fully aware of what to expect the following day.



The Funeral Mass, Memorial or Other Service 


1. Should arrangement require a church service or services at a location other than the funeral home, the Funeral Director will makes all the necessary arrangements to ensure the service can take place at the requested time. The family may chose to contact their own parish or priest personally. 

    
2. At the conclusion of any type of service the Funeral Director will meet with the family to present flowers, cards, donation cards completed by guests, the register book and thank you cards, and return any items the family chose to take home with them at this time. Some items may have to be picked up later, so those arrangements will also be made at this time. 



Monuments & Markers


1. During the funeral arrangement interview, the funeral director will raise the option for families to create a lasting permanent memorial. Most often, this memorial takes the form of a monument or marker.

    
2. From experience, we know that the first arrangement interview isn’t the best time to discuss this memorial. However, Bay Gardens has extensive experience in monument creation and a partnership with the largest supplier of permanent memorials in Canada. We maintain a comprehensive collection of pictures, workbooks and materials to assist you in creating this meaningful memorial. 

    
3. The creation of this memorial will take two to three meetings with the funeral director to finalize your design to perfection. However, we encourage families to take as much time as they require, ensuring your complete satisfaction with the finished design. 


Cemetery


1. During the funeral arrangement interview, the funeral director will cemetery needs if arrangements are being made for full casket burial, entombment, burial of cremated remains, cremation or placing of cremated remains into a niche or memory box specifically designed for placement urns and other memento items.

    
2. Depending on the choice of final disposition (or perpetual resting place for the body or cremated remains), and whether or not there is an existing grave, niche or crypt, the cemetery’s involvement may range from a phone call placed by the funeral home, to a one to three hour visit to the cemetery to make a number of selections. Most cemeteries require the family to meet with them at some point before burial or entombment to confirm these details.  
 



The Reception


1. During the funeral arrangement interview and tour of the facility, the funeral director will offer the option of a post service reception.

    
2. At Bay Gardens we strongly believe in the value of receptions. Our experience tells us that much of stress associated with planning the funeral for someone we love becomes somewhat dissipated for a period following the service. This lower stress period allows family to “take in” more of the love, support and fellowship during this time. The opportunity to “break bread” with family and friends during this important period cannot be understated. The funeral director will offer families several menu choices as well as the opportunity to have a wine and beer service provided.     



After The Funeral


1. Sometime after the service, a family will meet with an After-Care Specialist who specializes in helping families fill out Canadian Pension Plan or other forms.  Often a family will ask about purchasing cemetery property close to their loved one, or request a follow up meeting to discuss pre-arrangement.

    
2. Bereavement services are available through Bay Care, a program developed for the families we serve.  This program is free to the community.  Bay Care offers numerous groups, workshops, and seminars throughout the year on grief and bereavement.  The Living Passionately series at Bay Gardens also offers workshops on living well, such as “Meditation 101”.  Please see our Resources & Support section for further information. 

Call us at Bay Gardens Hamilton (905-574-0405) or Burlington (905-527-0405) for the answers to these and other questions you may have about pre-arranging a funeral.