La fête des Pères sans mon père Mon père est mort le 1er octobre 2021. C’est la première fois que je ne l’appelle pas pour lui dire : « Bonne fête des Pères, Le Vieux. Merci de m’avoir mise au monde. » Le Vieux, est le surnom de Bertrand Côté, qu’il a assumé dès l’âge de 43 … Continued
The Secret by Lynn Brown-Poole May 2022 The old woman is sitting peacefully in her recliner. She looks regal with her coifed chignon and svelte figure dressed in simple elegance. She pretends to be watching TV, but she is deep in her thoughts, her memories, tucked far away in the past, but still sharp … Continued
The Saddle Shoes by Lynn Brown-Poole As the cold winds of November bore down on us and the clouds became dark and heavy, I, the person who loves to be outdoors, became quite content to remain inside. This was the month that I would whittle away at my “to do” list. The month that I … Continued
In 1971, a tall, lanky, young man walked into Green Acres Funeral Home in the francophone community of St. Boniface, Manitoba looking for a job. When he was hired as an apprentice, he couldn’t believe his luck. As an apprentice he would not only have a job, but he would learn a trade. During the … Continued
Author: Lynn Brown-Poole Master of Ceremony: Stéphanie Côté Candle lighting: Lynn Brown-Poole, Molie Filiatrault-Asselin, Mike Olinik, Donna Olinik, Gabrielle Marcoux and Émilie Lister Decor and Staging: Voluntas Team Film and Editing: Denis J. Marcoux
Sustainability and ecological integrity are two important principles that guide Voluntas in our day-to-day operations and ongoing effort to be the leader in forward-thinking for funeral services. Thus, when Voluntas was ready to expand, we purchased the building and grounds of St. Genevieve United Church where we were able to inject new life into a … Continued
The pain of loss was crushing Mary (not her real name). She didn’t know where she would find the strength to plan her baby’s funeral. She just wanted to stay home, curl up in a ball and stay in bed. But, she had to be strong for her baby. She showered, dressed, left the house … Continued
Updated June 1, 2022 Quebec is lifting all pandemic restrictions. Mesures in place as of June 1, 2022: https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/sante/documents/Problemes_de_sante/covid-19/measures-in-effect.pdf?1645459629 All funeral rituals are possible. No restrictions on the number of person to attend visitation, funeral services and reception. Vaccine passport not required. One meter social distancing is recommended. Food and alcoholic beverage services are allowed … Continued
In 1955, my parents took a brave decision to leave their neighborhood of birth and move the family far away to what would soon be known as the suburbs, specifically Beaconsfield. My parents, my older brother, Peter and I moved into our small 3-bedroom bungalow on Friday, October 28th and the next day on October … Continued
Simplicity. The Collins dictionary defines simplicity as a noun meaning to make less complicated. As we begin a new decade, wouldn’t it be nice to live a simpler, less complicated life? But the real question is: how can we make our lives meaningful all the while making it less complicated? As a wife, mother and … Continued