Posts Tagged ‘ UWO Bequeathal Program ’

I guess I’m long overdue to update and this one’s a doozy. It’s been a crazy, busy week filled with good times and bad.

Last weekend, my grandmother passed away somewhat unexpectedly. The problem with an unexpected death is that if the person who died was ill prepared for it, the family is left behind trying to figure out what the hell to do. My grandmother never worked a day in her life. She had no will, no life insurance, no money, and no plan. My mother and I spent an entire day trying to find a funeral home that was willing to simply cremate her and give her ashes back to us for something less than the ludicrous tune of $2000. There was even a funeral home in Brigden that wanted $4200 – just to cremate her!!! Let me tell you, prices do vary and it pays to call around. Unfortunately, the fees across the board just seemed incredibly unreasonable given our needs. I was left absolutely disgusted by the way funeral homes capitalize on family grief and prey on the weak. Glorified thieves. So, we considered some alternatives. 

We made the decision to donate her body to the Bequeathal Program at the University of Western Ontario. We’re proud of the decision and proud my grandmother’s body is going to help educate students and aid in medical research. Hopefully her death will bring the gift of life to a lot of other people. UWO takes responsibility for all costs in connection to the eventual cremation and interment. That being said, there were still some fees associated with the donation: documentation and transportation. We were back to the drawing board with the funeral homes. I know they are all trying to run a business but… I found picking a funeral home a little too much like buying a used car.

Based on our experience and general service costs, here is my personal opinion of some of our fine Sarnia funeral establishments:

THE WORST: Smith Funeral Home.BENT. I am talking straight up RIDICULOUS. While they do provide lovely funeral services for families who are willing and able to be nickel and dimed to their own near death, they wanted $2500  for the cremation and $1486.50 just to transfer the body to the Bequeathal Program. When I questioned the costs and said I wanted to call around for other prices, they actually looked appalled and annoyed with me. $1486.50 just to document my grandmother’s death and take  her body to London, one hour away. Not to sound like a cold hearted snake, but I wasn’t buying it. I was not, under any circumstances, going to pay a mandatory $250 fee for the “maintenance” of their premises and ground. Not a chance. That was only one of their MANDATORY basic fees that total up to exactly $1300. The only concession they were willing to make was to deduct the $90 cost of the Executive Will Kit we obviously had no use for. Gee, thanks.

THE BEST: McCormack Funeral Home -Stewart Chapel. REASONABLE. It may not be the swankiest place in the city to say goodbye to your loved one, but we didn’t need swank. We chose McCormack because they were only funeral home who was willing to work with us and tailor their fees to our ACTUAL needs. They were compassionate and helpful and the only funeral home who made us feel like their bottom line was not based on our bank balances. They charges us roughly $845 for the services of documentation and trasportation to London – that’s almost 50% less than everyone else we spoke to was trying to charge us.  Thank you, Cameron McCormack, for being so kind and understanding.

TIED SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN: DJ Robb and McKenzie Blundy. I contacted both of these funeral homes over the phone before we decided to go with the Bequeathal Program and found them to be very nice. DJ Robb had lower prices than Smith  for the cremation by about $500.  Dale at McKenzie Blundy was very friendly and willing to match any competitors price, plus I really liked that they have an annual dedication service and plant a memorial tree for your loved one in the Wawanosh Wetlands Conservation Area.

That being said, please remember this is just my opinion and I’m sure that everyone’s situation is different. For anyone in a similiar situation to ours, where finances are a factor, the most important point I want to make is that it’s okay to shop around. Don’t let funeral homes make you feel pressured and then rob you blind during what should be a time to grieve. I hope talking about our experience might help other unsuspecting families. That’s it for now.