Since 1910, Saskatoon Funeral Home has responded to the needs of Saskatoon & area citizens of every faith and every walk of life. They have a proud history as Saskatoon's longest-serving, local, family-owned and operated, full-service funeral and cremation provider to trace its roots to the beginning days of our city. Saskatoon Funeral Home are a Trusted Saskatoon funeral home.

In their latest article on funerals, they provide important guidelines regarding what to do when a death occurs.

No matter if a death is sudden, or if it is something that was a long time coming, the loss of a loved one makes us feel emotional and overwhelmed. No amount of preparation can fully prepare you for the loss of a loved one. When you are in a heightened emotional state, even the most basic decisions can seem staggering. The following is a rough guideline of what needs to be done within the first 24 hours after death.

When a death occurs at home or a place of business

If the person was not under palliative home care, the police will have to be notified immediately. The police will be dispatched to the home and place the call to the coroner. From there the coroner determines whether further action is necessary. The coroner must release the deceased before a funeral home can do anything. If the person was under palliative home care, contact the home care representative if they were not present and they will notify family members what the proper procedures are to follow.

When a death occurs at a hospital/nursing home/hospice facility

The staff of a care facility such as a hospital or a nursing home will notify you and the necessary authorities immediately after a death has occurred. If a funeral home name has been provided to the hospital or nursing home, they will be notified at the time of death. If you are present at the hospital when the funeral home representative arrives, they will ask a few questions about the deceased wishes and set up a time to come into the funeral home to make arrangements, however, if you are not present a funeral director will contact you by telephone to discuss these arrangements.

Informing a Funeral Director

Once everything has been cleared with the proper authorities, the next call you place should be to a licensed funeral director. Funeral directors are here to help you obtain a death certificate, transport the deceased, and in the event, pre-planning was not done, select a casket/urn and arrange the funeral/memorial service. Funeral directors are here to help and advise you and will work very hard to relieve the stress and logistics involved in funeral planning.

Meeting a Funeral Director

You should meet with a funeral director within 24 hours of a death to begin to make final arrangements for your loved one. Deciding on these final arrangements may seem like a very daunting task, especially when you are in a heightened emotional state, but, funeral home staff have years of experience dealing with these issues, and strive to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Making Arrangements

First, the Funeral Director will gather the information required for registering the death. This includes:

Full Name and Address
Marital Status
Date and Place of Birth
Father’s Name, Mother’s Name (including maiden name)
Birthplaces of Father and Mother
Name of Spouse (if married or widowed, including maiden name)
Occupation

It is advisable to bring in a copy of the will if it is available to show who is the Executor in charge of making funeral arrangements.

If no pre-planning has been done, necessary arrangements need to be made for the funeral service. These include:

Scheduling the location, date, and time of the visitation and funeral service
Selecting burial or cremation
Choosing Funeral Products
Arranging a cemetery plot if requested
Preparing an obituary notice
Scheduling transportation arrangements

A funeral director will guide you through all these steps, using your wants, needs, and desires as a foundation to create a memorable funeral for your loved one. From here the funeral services can be personalized. Did your loved one have a favorite sports team? What was their favorite type of music? What activity was your loved one known best for? Recalling fond memories assists with the grieving process and will help honor the life of your loved one.

For more information on planning a memorable goodbye see Saskatoon Funeral Home's helpful guide.

Visit their website to learn more about pre-planning a funeral and grief support, as well as the traditional funeral and cremation services that they have to offer. They are always there to help. Check out their listing on Trusted Saskatoon to read more reviews and to see all the services they offer.

Saskatoon Funeral Home is your Trusted Saskatoon funeral home.

The Trusted Saskatoon Directory Team is thrilled to share the many reasons we are proud to welcome Saskatoon Funeral Home to the Trusted Community of locally owned businesses operated with integrity. They are your Trusted Saskatoon funeral home.

A History Of Professionalism, Outstanding Service & Compassionate Care

For over 110 years, the Saskatoon Funeral Home has responded to the needs of Saskatoon people of every faith and every walk of life. The late William A. Edwards founded the business in 1910, the start of a proud history as Saskatoon's longest-serving locally-owned, family-operated, full-service funeral and cremation provider to trace its roots to the beginning days of our city. Saskatoon Funeral Home is a family-operated, full-service funeral and cremation provider. They offer a full range of services, including pre-arranging, traditional and nontraditional services for all faiths and philosophies.

The initial location was 114 - 2nd Ave. South ). William soon moved the business to a large house at 412 - 22nd St. East (now Saskatoon Square). The current downtown location is a distinctive mid-century modern building. It is worth noting that SFH is the only Saskatoon funeral provider with 24-hour onsite attendance and guardianship for loved ones.

Meet The Edwards

The Edwards family is steadfastly committed to compassion, dignity, integrity and professional excellence.

The Founder of Saskatoon Funeral Home, William A. Edwards, was born in Ontario in 1886. He apprenticed in the profession under his father and at 20 years of age came west working his way to the coast and back to Saskatoon, where he established the business of W.A. Edwards Funeral Director in 1910. His son, Arnold led a long and meaningful career in funeral service both locally and provincially. A life member of the Saskatchewan Funeral Service Association, he is recognized as always subscribing to the highest ideals and ethical standards in the profession, serving as Instructor and Examiner and Chairman of the Public Information Committee. The business is in the SABEX Hall of Fame Award and was the recipient of The Community Involvement Awards from SABEX and ABEX. Arnold also received the Rotary Golden Wheel Award for Vocational Service.

A Fourth-Generation Family Business That Gives Back

Arnold's son Bill and his wife Eleanor Edwards have deep roots in Saskatoon, and they are known for their generosity and sense of community. That's why the couple was honoured with the joint title of CTV's 2011 Citizen of the Year. They've contributed to the city in many ways through not only their businesses but by volunteering their time to various groups and organizations. Bill coached various sports teams and Eleanor volunteered with organizations such as Meals on Wheels. They also created bereavement support organizations, such as the Walk of Memories, Children and Grief, and Motherless Daughters.

Eleanor and Bills son Morgan Edwards joined the family business in 2006 and he represents the fourth generation in the family business. Morgan is the general manager, funeral director, and embalmer. Bill's siblings Brenda and David also serve on the Board.

To the Edwards Family and Saskatoon Funeral Home, business and community are intertwined. It has always meant a real commitment to the betterment of the community and its people on an economic, spiritual and social level. They believe their success is not achieved through the success of one individual but by the combined efforts of many over a long period of time.

We can certainly attest to the success of their collective efforts, as the clients we spoke to as part of the Trusted verification process had nothing but wonderful things to say about the Saskatoon Funeral Home team. The consistent theme was that the staff truly care and do their best to make an awful and emotional time less stressful.

"Morgan Edwards handled our mother's funeral with so much compassion and dignity. The immediate family was unable to attend due to Covid-19 restrictions, but he made every effort to include us in the service" - Verna T

As we do our due diligence and look at reviews as part of our process we found this one on Google that really summed up what we were hearing from everyone we spoke to.

"A wonderful help and support for our family during the planning of my fathers celebration of life. He was able to adeptly navigate a complicated family dynamic, create space for everyone to be heard and pulled together the service in record time. He also offered me a shoulder to cry on and instinctively knew what I needed to hear to start processing my grief.
Thank you from the bottom my heart for your kind and compassionate support. We are so lucky to have your support."

During the pandemic, gathering limit restrictions that were in place for months meant many ' traditional funeral gatherings' were not able to take place. They announced early on that Saskatoon Funeral Home was waiving all fees associated with digital viewing as they prepared for more families to use the streaming service during funerals. They also have a robotic device called telepresence— a technology on wheels with an attached Ipad. A family member can control the device and talk with funeral guests and even potentially give a eulogy.

In an interview with CTV, Morgan Edwards said

“We have the tools in place to accommodate and we want to still feel like we are doing something to help our friends and neighbours. We have a duty to commemorate a life and that shouldn’t be taken away by the times,”

Trusted Tips & Resources

Trusted Saskatoon Funeral Home Provides Important Guidelines For When Death Occurs

When a death occurs at home or a place of business