The cost of dying in Kamloops, Okanagan is getting more expensive | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Cloudy  2.2°C

Kelowna News

The cost of dying in Kamloops, Okanagan is getting more expensive

Westbank Cemetery.
Image Credit: District of West Kelowna

The cost of burial plots in city-owned cemeteries continues to climb by as much as 10% a year.

But, as a Kelowna funeral home director points out, cemeteries are great assets for their communities.

“I think it’s an enriching experience for the city to have a vibrant, well-functioning, well-serviced and well-optioned place of final rest,” Richard Henseleit, president and co-owner of Springfield Funeral Home in Kelowna, told iNFOnews.ca. “It becomes, in some ways, the most valuable cultural asset within a community. That’s where your history is. That’s where people, personally, are connected to a city.”

At one time, burial was only in a casket in the ground but cremation makes up about 85% of the disposals of human remains in the Central Okanagan, he said. And his business handles about half of that.

“Burial is going to establish a memorialization because of place,” Henseleit said. “When you bury someone, you establish a place of permanence and final rest.”

Some Thompson-Okanagan cities are struggling with the cost of their cemeteries but others put planned increases in place years ago.

Vernon City Council, on Nov. 8, agreed to boost fees to its cemetery by 10% a year for the next two years, just as it has done for at least the last two years.

That’s an effort to remove the operating subsidy from taxpayers that was almost $46,000 in 2016 and was still more than $18,000 last year.

Kamloops made its adjustment in 2020 because it was still using 2015 rates. Council agreed to a 25% increase for some services for 2021 followed by 3.5% increases each year through 2030.

READ MORE: Precious statue missing from a cemetery in Kamloops

It did a comparison with half a dozen other similar sized cities in B.C. that showed a full casket burial for an adult who was a Kamloops resident cost $3,470, lower than Prince George, Kelowna, Coquitlam and Abbotsford. The average cost for those five cities was $4,677.

Victoria, by comparison, charged just over $20,000, according to the report.

The City of Kelowna, also on Nov. 8, agreed to increase its fees by 5% a year for the next three years. That’s part of a 10-year plan of annual 5% increases laid out in a cemetery master plan that was adopted in 2015.

READ MORE: Cost of burials going up at City of Kelowna cemetery

West Kelowna and Penticton have done similar cost reviews over the years and have annual increases more in line with inflation.

Not only is it important for cities to plan for the future of their cemeteries, especially as land becomes pricier, planning is also important on an individual level, Henseleit advised.

If people don’t plan for their own burial, that decision is left to the executor of their will or, if there is no will, there is a clear legal definition of who is next in line to take responsibility.

“We are a death-denying culture,” Henseleit said. “We are a society that fears death and doesn’t like to talk about it. It is the most procrastinated thing ever.”

There are times, though, when it does come to mind, such as while attending funerals for others.

“My experience is, there are seasons of life and there are experiences that come around in our life that we are heightened in our need and our desire to have those conversations,” Henseleit said. “When things are wonderful, you don’t want to talk about death. But, when death is happening around you, when grandma just died and you were just at a funeral, you become more cognizant of it and it is more real and personal to think about your own.”

Attending funerals brings to mind good experiences that people want to share at their own funeral, as well as unpleasant things they would prefer to avoid, he said.

Cost is a complicated thing to figure out. Not only are there costs for caskets, cremation and memorial services, but the costs of where and how to be buried range widely.

Most municipal cemeteries have lower fees for residents versus non-residents but there is more to the cost of burial than just a plot of land.

In West Kelowna, for example, the cost of a double plot listed on its web page is $1,602. What’s not included is the opening and closing (digging) of the grave, which adds $1,194 and the liner is $584 for a total of $3,380.

Most graves are double, meaning they’re dug deep enough to have a second casket or a number of urns placed on top. When that’s done, that initial plot fee ($1,602 in West Kelowna) is not charged, just the digging and liner costs.

Penticton charges $1,507 for its burial plots, $1,515 for digging the grave and $500 for the liner for a total of $3,522. It’s another $527 for a plot for non-residents.

West Kelowna adds $685 for its most economical plot for non-residents.

The region’s other largest cities top the $4,000 mark with Kamloops at $4,131, Vernon at $4,416 and Kelowna at $5,233.

These are just base fees for caskets buried in the ground and rise dramatically for special locations. Mausoleum sites, for example, can be well over $20,000.

Then there are markers.

The Kelowna fee of $5,233 is in the “flat marker” section. The upright marker section costs an additional $1,602 and there’s an upright marker permit fee listed on its website at $249 while a flat marker permit is $427.

Cremation is a much more affordable option as there is no casket (which can start at $400 and get into the thousands) and the ashes don’t necessarily have to be buried.

People are free to keep ashes at home or spread them in special places.

A permanent site in a niche, can cost, for example, $4,847 in Kelowna’s cemetery.

Scattering ashes there without a plaque costs $752. In West Kelowna, there’s an option for placing ashes in an Ossuary – a co-mingled container placed deep in the ground – for a mere $370.

Deciding if, when and how to be buried affects thousands of people in the Thompson and Okanagan regions.

According to B.C. Vital Statistics, more than 6,000 people died in the Thompson-Okanagan region in 2020.

Where people died in 2020:

2,077 – Central Okanagan
1,144 – Kamloops
799 – Vernon
623 – Penticton
453 – Salmon Arm
358 – South Okanagan
158 – Summerland
138 - Merritt
101 – Armstrong/Spallumcheen
98 – Keremeos
87 – Enderby


To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2021
iNFOnews

  • Popular kelowna News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile