Straight Talk

Mothers in Funeral Service

Another Mother’s Day has come and gone. It is a day which can have many meanings for many people. It can be a time of celebration as well as a time of mourning. Above all, it is a time to acknowled...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Normal feels Good

Normal feels good. This seems to have been the ongoing theme over the past couple of weeks. Spring has sprung, the robins are out, and restrictions in most settings have been lifted. While normal f...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Music Therapy

Meeting with families and coordinating celebrations with them allows me to be witness to many special moments that the public does not always get to see. Recently I was able to be witness to anothe...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Kitchen Window

Watching a casket being loaded into a vehicle from my kitchen window is one of my first childhood memories. Living beside the family-owned funeral home in Bothwell gave me the opportunity to learn ...
By Ashley Patton
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Light a Star

Sunday night we held the “Light a Star” service in support of Greenwood Cemetery. For a donation to the cemetery, a star is placed on a tree, or in around the gardens outside of our Ridgetown Funer...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, December 8, 2021

What do Funeral Directors do for Families? - Part 3

What do Funeral Directors do for Families? 3) Event Planner Imagine your son or daughter coming to you, barely able to contain their good news. They are getting married! They have a 200 person gu...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, September 29, 2021

What does a Funeral Director do? - Part 2

What do Funeral Directors do for Families? 2) Time Management There are many logistical elements to planning a funeral, and while “Time Management” may not show up on anyone’s Top 5 List, it...
By Nathan McKinlay
In Straight Talk
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
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Previous Posts

What Does a Funeral Director Do? - Part 1

Throughout the year, our team leads tours and presentations for  numerous Victim Services Groups, PSWs, DSWs and nursing students. We cover a number of subjects, which may&...

Canada Day This Year

People today are wrestling with their sense of patriotism. Our global economy, and social networks have been thrown askew over the last 16 months. Borders have closed and protectionism has taken a ...

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day. It can be seen as a day of brunches and family gatherings as well a day of reflection and loss. It can be a mixed bag of emotions, with many having lost their own mothers now taking t...

Poppa Gale

No two days are ever the same at the Funeral Home. Throughout the course of a year, we engage in numerous conversations with people about their loved ones. We hear countless life stories – the good...

Woodlot Preservation

Woodlot preservation is a divisive topic these days. Chatham-Kent Council approved a motion last Monday evening, enacting a bylaw aimed at preventing clear cutting - for the next 120 days at the ve...

Constitutional Monarchy

“Constitutional Monarchy” is a term straight from the humdrum of history class. For many of us, the British Monarchy is far removed from our day to day. We occasionally see a colourized photo, moun...

Chatham-Kent is Home

Spring is here, and Easter is less than a week away. Among all the rebirth and renewal, we are seeing in our gardens, and reminded of in a roundabout way with bunnies and chocolate eggs, it is a ti...