Death is something that comes to all of us. And while it can be hard to accept when this event strikes anyone close to us, it is our duty to commemorate those who have already left.
Whether you know someone who has recently passed on or if you are simply planning for your future, you can benefit from this list of the best funeral homes in Calgary. We have also listed FAQs and compiled a consumer guide to help you choose the best funeral home from among our picks.
Table of Contents
What to Find in a Funeral Home
Your first consideration when looking for a funeral home should be their location and range of service. A funeral home should be accessible to you and to loved ones who will be visiting.
You should also ensure that they can offer the funeral service your loved ones would’ve wanted. Some funeral homes only offer cremation, some only burial, while others offer both.
Additionally, you should also find a funeral home with compassionate and understanding staff. They should be able to accommodate your special requests, especially if you have cultural traditions.
And last but not least, you should consider their costs. But don’t you worry about this one because we’ve also gone ahead to find the average prices for funeral services.
Price Range for Funeral Services in Calgary
Here are the average prices for funeral homes now. These are just estimates, though, so the actual quote you get may vary.
| Expenses | Price Range |
| Casket | $500-$1,500 |
| Traditional funeral | $4,000-$12,000 |
| Direct cremation | $1,000-15,000 |
| Burial lot | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Memorials and ceremonies | $2,000-$4,000 |
The Best Funeral Homes in Calgary
Now, here’s our list of the best Calgary funeral homes that have compassionate and understanding staff members to help you through a tough time.
1. South Calgary Funeral Centre and Crematorium
| BEST FOR | Zero-interest prepaid plans |
| SERVICES | Memorial service, cremation |
| PRICING | Check out their prices here |
| WEBSITE | https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca |
| ADDRESS | 12700 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, AB T2J 7E5 |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 297-0711 |
| OPERATING HOURS | 24/7 |
South Calgary Funeral Centre and Crematorium, also known as Dignity Memorial, prides itself on its attention to detail. The funeral home provides its clients with the freedom to choose what types of services and programs they’ll have.
Additionally, the Dignity Memorial funeral home also offers video tribute production and live music to commemorate your loved ones during visitations and memorial programs.
The funeral home has a 24-hour compassion helpline that family members can call for grief counselling. Dignity Memorial also extends its help to transportation and transfers.
And if you’re one to plan for the future, you can also get prepaid plans from this funeral home. Customers pay for their cemetery, funeral, and cremation costs for 60 months without interest through Dignity Memorial’s prepaid plans.
Pros
- 24/7 compassion hotline for grief counselling
- Prepaid funeral plans offered
- Memorial services come complete with video and music
- Customizable and personalized funeral services
Cons
- Some issues about the lack of transparency in pricing
Customer Reviews
Here are some customer reviews to tell you more about what you can expect from South Calgary Funeral Centre and Crematorium:
“Our experience was that everyone was extremely helpful in doing what we wanted and providing options to us. Everything turned out the way we hoped and it was comforting to be supported by the team on all our decisions.”
“I was very pleased & pleasantly surprised how well everything went. All the staff, I encountered while arranging my mother’s funeral, were excellent. I felt no pressure at all to buy anything we couldn’t afford or didn’t want. They just let us know what was available and that was that. The steps up to the day went seamless and the funeral was done very well and safely.”
2. Pierson’s Funeral Service
| BEST FOR | Special services |
| SERVICES | Memorial, funeral, cremation, burial, transfers |
| PRICING | Browse through their pricing guide here |
| WEBSITE | https://www.piersons.ca/ |
| ADDRESS | 4121 17 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2A 0T1 |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 235-3602 |
| OPERATING HOURS | 24/7 |
Pierson’s Funeral Services aims to provide the best services for all cultures, budgets, and expectations. This funeral home is a family business founded in 1983, so it knows how to treat each client and grieving family with compassion.
Even if it has its own chapel, Pierson’s offers venue flexibility so that the deceased may be laid to rest wherever they would have wanted. What makes this funeral home stand out is that it can also conduct special services for veterans and first responders.
The funeral home also offers grief support resources. These resources include support groups, online discussion boards, books, and even online articles.
Besides these resources, Pierson’s also delivers flowers and jewelry that you can add as a keepsake for your loved ones. Pierson’s also has prepaid funeral services that are usable even if you move out of Calgary.
Pros
- Tribute wall and video production offered
- Available personalized items, flowers, and keepsake jewelry
- Special funeral services
- Flexible arrangement of venues
Cons
- Costly cremation services
Customer Reviews
Here are some reviews to tell you more about Pierson’s Funeral Services:
“I don’t have words to adequately express our appreciation to Pierson’s. Their service and assistance was outstanding. Every detail was handled with kindness and care. They are a remarkable group of professionals. Heartfelt thanks to Michael Pierson, David Root and their team. If it’s possible to make anything that relates to funeral planning and the death of a loved one “easy”, they did that for us.”
“We went through a difficult time with our father passing away recently and Katie from Pierson’s funeral home made the entire process very comfortable. The entire staff are courteous and professional. Their humble establishment welcomes many different cultures and their knowledge and understanding of them makes you feel like you are in great hands.”
3. Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services
| BEST FOR | Affordability |
| SERVICES | Memorial, cremation, funeral, transfers |
| PRICING | Check out their prices here |
| WEBSITE | https://www.choicememorial.com/ |
| ADDRESS | 4715 13 St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6M3, Canada Hours: Open 24 hours Phone: +1 |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 277-7343 [email protected] |
| OPERATING HOURS | 24/7 |
Choice Memorial was born out of the need to provide affordable and accessible funeral services to Calgarians, they claim. They also guarantee compassion, care, and commitment in their services.
The funeral home provides options for memorial programs, cremation, and traditional funeral programs. Choice Memorial also assures its clients that there are no additional fees for weekend transfers and funeral home tours.
Aside from these services, Choice Memorial also has products such as urns, caskets, burial vaults, and even keepsake jewelry, which are also at reasonable prices.
And if you want to conduct funeral services at the comfort of your own home, Choice Memorial can still cater to your needs. With this option, you’ll be able to reduce costs and save on time and energy in going to and from your house and their funeral home.
Pros
- Reasonable and affordable prices
- No additional fees for weekends
- Caters to in-home funerals
- Compassionate, family-owned business
Cons
- Prices don’t include 3rd-party fees like musicians and catering
Customer Reviews
Learn more about what Choice Memorial consistently provides to its customers through these reviews:
“When I contacted Choice Memorial, their compassion and care in preparing for the cremation and completing all the required paperwork with one’s loss was such a relief. They went over and above to fulfill a personal family request which meant so much to me and my 2 daughters it was amazing. The staff’s kindheartedness went without notice to make things go as smoothly as possible during such a challenging time.”
“I phoned Choice Memorial and from the first point of contact the experience was exceptional. I met with Teresa and she was just incredible – she was so helpful with all the preparation and finding a very affordable option. I had gone to other Funeral Services establishments in the past and they practiced aggressive upselling – Teresa did not do that. I greatly appreciate her assistance during an extremely difficult time.”
4. Pet Heaven Crematorium And Funeral Chapel
| BEST FOR | Pets |
| SERVICES | Funeral, private and communal cremations, transfers |
| PRICING | Browse through their services and prices here |
| WEBSITE | https://petheavencalgary.com/ |
| ADDRESS | 5648 Burbank Rd SE, Calgary, AB T2H 1Z4 |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 266-2911 |
| OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Sunday: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
Now if you’re looking for something for your pet, then Pet Heaven may be the right choice for you. For over 15 years, Pet Heaven has provided peaceful and dignified funeral services for pets and animals in Calgary.
It offers pick-up, transfers, and of course, cremation services. Pet Heaven also lets pet owners choose between private and communal cremation services.
And to console pet owners for their loss, Pet Heaven provides an ink foot or a paw print of their cremated pets.
The funeral home also has numerous partners, including veterinary clinics, grief support groups, and other funeral homes for deceased human loved ones.
Pros
- Paw print of pets as memorabilia
- Multiple options for cremation services
- Partners with veterinary clinics and funeral homes
Cons
- Slow pick-ups and deliveries
Customer Reviews
Here are some customer reviews to tell you more about Pet Heaven:
“As the owner of A laptop Shoppe , my daughter and I had a delightful experience here. With same-day service we were listened to by caring and understanding people. In a time of grief where are pet died this makes the situation easier to bear.”
“They took the time to explain everything and gave us all the time in the world. Kyle was very respectful, he always asked before he touched Coco and made sure everyone was comfortable with what was happening. We wanted to be sure that Coco’s ashes were only his as we wanted to bring him home. Kyle called us at 8:30pm when he was ready and we drove across the city to get Coco home. I have no idea what sort of hours Kyle works but we really appreciated that.”
5. Evan J. Strong Funeral Services
| BEST FOR | Variety of funeral packages |
| SERVICES | Funeral, cremation, burial, memorial, transfers |
| WEBSITE | https://www.evanjstrong.com/ |
| ADDRESS | 5502 2nd Street SW Calgary, Alberta T2H 0G9 |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 265-1199 [email protected] |
| OPERATING HOURS | 24/7 |
Evan J. Strong Funeral Home prides itself on being the most-reviewed funeral service in the city, with most of its ratings reflecting its excellent services.
This family-owned funeral home offers burials, cremations, and other funeral services to make things easier for you and your family. Evan J. Strong also offers pre-planning services so that you can design a funeral service for when your time comes.
The best thing about this funeral home is that it also offers various packages for traditional funeral, cremation, and burial services. This way, clients aren’t restricted to simple or overly-grand funeral services.
Evan J. Strong also offers resources to help clients cope with grief. These resources are in the form of online articles, grief support groups, and even a comfort dog.
Pros
- Numerous funeral service packages
- Floral tributes and online tributes
- Connection with 5 national grief support groups
- Excellent customer care
Cons
- Pricey services
Customer Reviews
These customer reviews will help you decide whether or not Evan J. Strong can be the best funeral home for your situation:
“In times of sorrow of loosing a Loved one, this team of kind, compassionate,caring professionals made the journey so much better for our family. I will always be grateful for your attention to the steps of taking care of my wife. And finally Kelly thank you guiding me this afternoon with the final details.”
“Professional, empathetic, prompt, caring, consultative, ethical, knowledgeable and most importantly, they listened. It was my first time being an executor and even though I agreed to be there for my friend that passed I had trouble with the emotion of the passing and the tasks that needed to be performed.”
6. Alberta Pet Cremations Inc
| BEST FOR | Pet cremation |
| SERVICES | https://www.albertapetcremation.com/services/ |
| WEBSITE | https://www.albertapetcremation.com/ |
| ADDRESS | Mailing Address: Box 106, 16 Midlake Blvd SE Calgary Alberta T2X 2X7 Crematorium Address: 9616 – 44 Street SE Calgary Alberta |
| CONTACT DETAILS | (403) 254 – 5374 |
| OPERATING HOURS | Contact for more details |
Alberta Pet Cremation Inc. is comprised of caring pet loving individuals like yourself. This type of compassion and understanding can only come from those that have lived through the very same agonizing situation.
They understand the bond that develops between pets and their family. And the loss of a pet can be devastating. They are here to help you select the best option and providing you with a very special farewell to your pet.
They are committed to help you with the pain of loss while providing you with choices for memorializing, celebrating and honoring the memories you hold dear of your pet.
Pros
- Your pet will be handled with the utmost dignity and compassion
- Also offers urns
- Return of ashes in 3 to 5 business days
- All private cremations are logged and recorded
Cons
- Prices are not listed online
Customer Reviews
Here’s what people have to say about:
“Both Steve and Sean go above and beyond with these sensitive matters. They genuinely care about the loss of your beloved friends. xoxoxoxo“
“I have used Alberta Pet Cremation for over 20 years and would not trust my best friends with anyone else. Shawn is the best and he cares about your pet as much as you do. I would never go anywhere else.“
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you know of the best funeral homes in Calgary, you can stress out less about this emotional period of you and your family’s lives. All of our picks can also cater to different religions and cultures, so just feel free to contact any of these for a detailed quote.
If you want to have your memorial service somewhere else that’s peaceful, then you can also browse our list of the best churches in Calgary. Our article is also inclusive, so you won’t have to worry about feeling out of place with whatever religion you may follow.
