(Photo credit: Adam Donnelly).

By Stephanie Swensrude

COVID RESTRICTIONS LIFTING

Funerals allowed at full capacity, backlog expected

Feb 22, 2022 | 4:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — Funeral homes look to be busy this spring as celebrations that were previously delayed can now happen without capacity limits.

These celebrations may be different that what’s traditional, said Tim Cook, director at Kamloops Funeral Home.

“I think a majority of them have done something at home, or they’re going to do something in the spring… Or maybe turn it into a simple graveside as opposed to a celebration of life,” Cook says.

Some families decided to delay their services when restrictions were in place due to capacity limits.

“They find it hard because they know if they do have a service, even if it’s a small one, they’re not giving the deceased the justice they deserve,” Cook says.

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Some services have now been delayed for months or even years. Even after all that time, laughing, crying, and telling stories are all vital to the grieving process, according to Tennille Phipps, part-owner and counselor at Living Bridges Therapy Collective.

“Funerals really give us that ability to share in that grief together, to know that we’re not alone in it, also to be able to celebrate the person that we’ve known and that has contributed so much to our lives,” Phipps says.

Phipps says avoiding a cathartic mourning event like a funeral can cause problems later on.

“I think some of the things that could crop up later is a little bit of a [linger] in grief,” said Phipps.

Through the pandemic, Phipps has been counseling her clients to find their own mourning rituals that they can do in place of a funeral.

“[This is] to be able to acknowledge and commemorate and express their grief.”

Cook says more traditional families held services despite capacity restrictions, but he expects others who chose to wait will schedule celebrations now that restrictions have been lifted.