Grieving in the time of COVID-19
Outdoor celebrations of life, virtual services allow mourners to stay safe and send off their loved ones
Graveside potlucks and picnics and virtual services are new ways the funeral industry is adapting to allow people to mourn the death of loved ones during restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent funeral service at McCall Gardens had a maximum capacity of 45 mourners inside its chapel, but another 150 attended the service via Zoom, a videoconferencing software, on four large screens showing 50 faces at a time.
The virtual mourners were able to watch a live stream of the service and those in the chapel were able to see friends and relatives from across Canada and the world on the screens, said Trevor McCall, president of the Saanich funeral home.
“A celebration of life is so important to the grieving process,” said McCall. “When people aren’t able to gather because of COVID, this provides people with a meaningful way to participate.”
McCall said the family-owned business started using the virtual connection in March as the pandemic took hold and restrictions on gatherings were imposed by the province. He now believes the virtual connection will continue well into the future. “I see this as a part of the funeral-services business long after COVID, for the whole funeral profession,” said McCall.
The service is also archived for mourners to view later on.
“COVID has made us adapt,” said McCall. “And we had to act quickly.”
He said many funeral arrangements over the past few months were made online and over the phone, but people are starting to come in person, since the offices are large enough to ensure social distancing.
At Royal Oak Burial Park, where large gatherings are also prohibited, executive director Crystabelle Fobler said interment services are also changing.
One family held a potluck gathering in the park and others are doing picnics or bringing acoustic guitars.
She said with limited space in the chapel, the burial park is offering outdoor areas, along with tents and tables and chairs to host special gatherings to send off their loved ones.
“We can’t offer chapel services at this time, so we are giving families options,” said Fobler. “Whether it’s alongside our picturesque fountain or in the midst of a large green space, we want to ensure that our guests continue to have a beautiful place to remember.”
Fobler said the park’s popular “So[u]lstice flags” will be offered for services. The white flags “symbolize loved ones who aren’t able to be here,” she said.
Fobler said several interments of cremated remains were delayed in March and April, and there was “a major uptick” in May, as it was difficult for some families to plan anything, travel or even gather in public spaces.
The burial park is open to the public with notices for safe social distancing and other protocols.
Fobler said visitations to the cemetery are up during the pandemic, noting there has been a sizable increase in queries into the location of graves. “I think people have been reconnecting with loved ones [during the pandemic],” she said.
Opened in 1923, Royal Oak Burial Park is the largest municipal cemetery in the province, with about 78 acres of the 135-acre area developed for burials. According to its website, more than 72,000 have been buried there and a further 93,000 have been cremated at its crematorium.
About 25 per cent of the area has been designated to stay in natural park form.
Trevor McCall, president of Saanich’s McCall Gardens, said Greater Victoria has one of the highest rates of cremations in North America at about 90%.
Royal Oak also has the region’s only mausoleum, which was built in 1995 to accommodate above-ground interments.
Crystabelle Fobler, executive director of Royal Oak Burial Park, said green burials are also rising.
These burials are an environmentally sensitive practice where the body is returned to the earth to decompose naturally and contribute to environmental renewal. A body is prepared without embalming and buried in a biodegradable shroud, simple container or casket made from natural fibre, wicker or sustainably harvested wood.
Fobler said since the initial green burial area was opened in 2008, another half acre was developed in 2017 for “doubledepth burials.”
Two more green burial areas are opening up soon, said Fobler, citing an increase in people preplanning their interments.