Following is a list of terms and explanations associated with the bereavement sector, which you may find helpful.

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After Care:  After Care programs are established to meet the needs of families affected by a death of a loved one by providing support, education, and resources in a community context. Many funeral homes and cemeteries provide these services. Considered by some to be an altruistic extension of the at need services provided.

Arrangement Room:  The room where the Funeral Consultant, and the deceased’s family, make arrangements for the funeral.

Beneficiary:  A person for whom funeral services or supplies, or both, are to be provided under a contract or prepaid contract.

Bereaved:  (N) The immediate family of the deceased. (V) suffering from grief upon the death of a loved one.

Bereavement:  Experiencing grief due to experiencing a loss.

Burial:  The opening and closing of a Lot or Grave (in ground) for human remains or cremated human remains (including the scattering of cremated human remains).

Burial Certificate or Permit:  A legal paper issued by the local government authorizing burial. The permit may authorize earth burial or cremation or removal to a distant point.

Burial Rights:  see Interment Rights.

Burial Rights Holder:  see Interment Rights Holder.

Burial Rites:  Specific practices observed by religious or cultural groups. (i.e. Interment as opposed to cremation; a funeral service before burial as opposed to a memorial service after interment.)

By-laws:  The rules and regulations under which the Cemetery operates.

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Care and Maintenance Fund: As a requirement under provincial legislation, a portion of the purchase price of all Interment Rights, and the prescribed amount payable upon installation of Monuments and Markers is contributed into an irrevocable trust fund – The Care and Maintenance Fund. Income from the Care and Maintenance Fund is used to provide general care and maintenance of the Cemetery.

Casket:  A container into which the deceased may be placed prior to interment, entombment or cremation; coffin. May be made of wood, metal or fibre-board.

Casketing:  Placing of the deceased in the casket upon completion of preparation.

Catafalque:  A stand upon which the casketed individual rests while instate and during the funeral service.

Celebration of Life:  1) A reflection on the life of the deceased rather than the death. Frequently stories are told by friends and family of events that bring back the essence of the deceased and the differences they made during their lifetime.
2) A way for people attending the funeral to show appreciation and gratitude for what the deceased may have done to enrich their life.

Cemetery:  Burying ground; a place for the interment of human remains – the most familiar medium for the commemoration of a life.

Chapel:  A large room of the funeral home in which the farewell service is held.

Coffin:  see Casket.

Columbarium:  A structure containing individual compartments or Niches for the placement of ashes (human cremated remains).

Commemorate:  To celebrate in speech or writing; to preserve in memory by some form of celebration – may take the form of a memorial service, gathering, speech, planting, or other act of remembrance.

Committal Service:  The final portion of the funeral service at which time the deceased is buried or entombed.

Coroner:  A public official and in some cases a constitutional officer whose duty it is to investigate the case of death if it appears to be from other than natural causes, or if there was no physician in attendance for a long time prior to death.

Cortege:  The funeral procession.

Cremation:  To consume (the deceased) by fire; the act of consuming by fire. The deceased, in a sealed container, is placed by itself in a cremation chamber where heat and evaporation reduce the remains to bone fragments, known as cremated remains (vide).

Cremated Remains:  That which is left after a body has been cremated; commonly called “ashes” but, in fact, bone fragments.

Cremation Burial Plot:  see Urn Space.

Cremation Urn:  A container into which cremated remains (ashes) are placed.

Crematorium:  A place where the cremation (of the deceased) takes place.

Crypt:  An individual compartment in a Mausoleum for the placement of human remains.

Death Certificate:  A legal paper signed by the attending physician showing the cause of death and other vital statistical data pertaining to the deceased.

Death Notice:  That paragraph in the classified section of a newspaper publicizing the death of a person and giving those details of the funeral service the survivors wish to have published. Most such notices list the names of the relatives of the deceased.

Disbursements:  Payments actually made by a funeral director or a person who operates a funeral establishment on behalf of a purchaser of funeral services or supplies, or both.

Display Room:  That room in the funeral home in which caskets, Urns, burial garments and sometimes vaults are displayed.

Disposition:  The final resting place for the deceased or for the deceased’s ashes. Choices include burial of the body in the earth or a mausoleum; burial, scattering or depositing the ashes in an urn for placement in a niche or taking home; donation of the deceased’s body to a research facility; or burial at sea (not permitted in the Great Lakes).

Dove Release:  At the end of the committal service family members and friends may release doves. The flock ascends into the sky and circles away. Moments later a single white dove representing the loved ones spirit is then released by a family member. The spirit dove joins the flock and together they make the spiritual flight home.

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Embalming:  Embalming is the temporary disinfection, temporary preservation and restoration of the deceased’s body. Washing, dressing and use of cosmetics are a part of this process.

Entombment:  The opening and closing of a Crypt for the deceased’s casketed body, or the opening and closing of a Niche for the deceased's ashes.

Family Car:  A limousine used in the funeral procession set aside for the use of the close family and friends typically provided by the funeral director.

Floral Tribute:  Flowers on display at funeral sent out of respect to the deceased by family and friends.

Flower Car:  A vehicle used for the transportation of flower pieces from the funeral home to the church and/or cemetery.

Funeral Arrangements:  Making the preparations and decisions associated with the funeral.

Funeral Centre:  An establishment in which the deceased are prepared for burial or cremation and in which wakes and funerals may be held.

Funeral Coach:  see Hearse.

Funeral Director:  A professional who prepares for the burial or other disposition of the deceased, supervises such burial or disposition, maintains a funeral establishment for such purposes, counsels with survivors. Synonym: mortician, undertaker.

Funeral Home:  see Funeral Centre.

Final Rites:  The Funeral Service:  The religious or other rites conducted immediately before final disposition of the the deceased individual.

Funeral Service:  1) The profession which deals with the handling of the deceased.
2) The religious or other rites conducted immediately before final disposition of the deceased.

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Grave:  Any Interment Right (cremation, child, or adult) which permits a Marker to be set flush and level with the ground in the Marker Space, or attached to an adjacent feature wall as defined in the Interment Rights Certificate. (Also refer to Lot definition.)

Hearse (Funeral Coach):  Typically a luxury vehicle converted to a station wagon with specialized rollers and turn tables to facilitate the transportation of the casketed individual. Typically provided by the funeral director. The hearse typically leads the procession from the funeral home to the church and cemetery.

Honorary Pallbearers:  Friends or members of a religious, social or fraternal organization who act as an escort or honour guard for the deceased. Honorary pallbearers do not carry the casket.

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Inscription:  Words inscribed on a monument or marker, crypt or niche front, or in a book, to commemorate a life.

Interment Right:  The right to require or direct the Burial or Entombment of a deceased person or the ashes of a deceased person in a Grave, Lot, Niche or Crypt.

Interment Rights Certificate:  A document, issued by the Cemetery once Interment Rights have been paid in full, specifying the ownership of the Interment Rights, memorialization options and planting restrictions.

Interment Rights Holder:  A person, firm, or corporation holding the right to direct the Burial or Removal of the deceased, ashes of the deceased, and associated memorialization in an Interment Right as registered in the Cemetery records.

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Lead Car:  The vehicle in which the funeral director and sometimes the clergyman rides. When the procession is formed, the lead car moves to the head of it and leads the procession to the church and/or cemetery.

Lot:  Any Interment Right (cremation, child, or adult) which permits the erection of a Monument in the Monument Space. (Also refer to Grave definition.)

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Marker:  A memorial constructed of bronze or granite, set flush and level with the ground in the Marker Space, except where attached to the feature wall adjacent to the Grave.

Marker Space:  Unless otherwise specified on the Interment Rights Certificate, that portion designated to contain the marker.

Mausoleum:  A structure or building containing individual compartments or Crypts for the placement of deceased individuals in caskets.

Memorials:  All Markers or Monuments, Columbarium Niche or Mausoleum Crypt fronts, and any other form used to inscribe the names of individuals buried or entombed within the Cemetery.

Memorial Service:  A service conducted in memory of the deceased without the remains being present.

Monument:  An upright (above-ground) memorial, constructed of granite or bronze material, installed within the designated Monument Space of a Lot(s).

Monument Base:  That portion of the Monument, constructed of granite, and set on the concrete Monument foundation to provide stability and protection for the Monument Diestone.

Monument Diestone:  Those portions of the Monument set on the Monument Base, containing the design and memorial inscription.

Monument Foundation:  The in-ground concrete foundation, constructed the equivalent size of the Monument Base, a minimum of 137 cm (4 ft 6 in) in depth.

Monument Space:  That portion of the Lot(s) designated to contain the Monument and planting area.

Niche:  An individual compartment in a Mausoleum or Columbarium for the Entombment of deceased individuals’ ashes.

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Obituary:  A notice of the death of a person, particularly a newspaper notice, containing a biographical sketch.

Pall:  A cloth, usually of black, purple, or white velvet, spread over a casket/coffin.

Pallbearers:  Individuals whose duty is to carry the casket, when necessary, during a funeral service. Pallbearers in some instances are hired and in others are close friends and relatives of the deceased.

Pre-Arranged Funeral:  Funeral arrangements completed by an individual prior to his/her death.

Pre-Need:  Planning one’s funeral in advance of the death, usually consisting of a list of your preferences for funeral arrangements including selection of funeral merchandise, cemetery plot locations, memorials, songs, pallbearers etc. Frequently, funding for Pre-Need contracts is done with an insurance policy or prepaid into a trust or other investment means. Pre-Need contracts can be purchased through funeral homes, cemeteries, and certain Pre-Need insurance companies.

Pre-paid Contract:  An agreement whereby a person contracts with a purchaser to provide or make provisions for funeral services, funeral supplies, or both or for the transportation of a dead human body, including disbursements, upon the death of a beneficiary, if any payment for the contract is made prior to the death of the beneficiary or the purchaser enters into an insurance contract or plan under which a licensee is to receive directly or indirectly the proceeds of the insurance policy upon the death of the beneficiary.

Pre-payment:  The payment or the guarantee of a payment pursuant to a prepaid contract.

Pre-payment Funds:  The money deposited in trust under the provisions of the Act and the income therefrom and includes the proceeds of an insurance policy received by a licensee.

Procession:  The vehicular movement of the funeral from the place where the funeral service was conducted to the cemetery. May also apply to a church funeral where the mourners follow the casket as it is brought into and taken out of the church.

Purchaser:  1) The individual purchasing the Interment Right, products or services. The Purchaser does not hold or maintain the right to direct Burials, Entombments, or memorialization unless they are registered as the Interment Rights Holder(s) and are so named on the Interment Rights Certificate.
2) A person who has accepted financial responsibility under a funeral service contract.

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Register:  A book made available by the funeral director for recording the names of people visiting the funeral home to pay their respects to the deceased. Also has space for entering other data such as name, dates of birth and death of the deceased, name of the officiating clergyman, place of interment, time and date of service, list of floral tributes, etc.

Removal:  The removal of the deceased, including the ashes of a deceased individual, from a closed or sealed Grave, Lot, Niche or Crypt.

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Scattering:  Term referring to the placement of a deceased’s ashes into a location or environment which may have been requested by the deceased. Many cemeteries have scattering gardens specifically for this purpose. While there is no typical prohibition against scattering, it is advisable to obtain permission from landowners before scattering on private property. There are services which will scatter ashes from an airplane or boat over areas designated by the family.

Section:  An area within a cemetery containing many graves or lots. Allows for easy location (i.e. Section B, Lot 450).

Traditional Service:  A service with the deceased present usually preceded by visitation.

Transfer Service:  A service to the public with respect to the disposition of the deceased, including the transportation of the deceased and the filling out of the necessary documentation with respect to the disposition of the deceased.

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Urn:  see Cremation Urn. Urns come in many shapes and designs, and are made from many materials, (i.e. bronze, copper, granite, wood, ceramic, etc.).

Urn Space:  A small excavation for the interment of an urn containing a deceased indivudual’s ashes.  Also called a cremation burial plot.  Will usually accommodate up to two urns.

Vault:  1) Also called a grave liner — made of concrete or steel, lowered into a grave to provide protection to the casket or container from the elements.
2) A climate-controlled room used for storing casketed remains until such time as interment, entombment or cremation can take place.

Viewing:  A time set aside for mourners to visit the deceased in an open casket/coffin to pay final respects.

Visitation:  An opportunity for survivors and friends to view the deceased in private usually in a special room within the funeral home.

Visitation Centre:  Located within a cemetery, a visitation centre is a facility which typically has visitation rooms, a chapel or gathering room and a room or rooms where a reception can be held after a service.  Visitation centres allows individuals to make/conduct all final arrangements/services in one location, i.e. a visitation, a service (either before or after burial), and the burial followed by a reception.

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Wake:  A watch kept over the deceased, sometimes lasting the entire night preceding the funeral.

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