Testimonials- It is an honour for us to have served many families. Here is what some of them have shared with us.

 

Dad always appreciated having a locale business providing services for rural residents from the Williamsford and surrounding area. My connection to the Garafraxa Hill Funeral goes back several years to when the building was under renovation to become what  it is today.  It developed over seven years from the initial pre planning meeting to actual services for my sister, mom, and most recently dad. The relationship has grown from one of professionalism to one of friendship. Anne and Tom have always been thoughtful, compassionate and responsive to our needs, concerns and wishes. They helped move us through the initial grieving process and sadness, to a well thought out celebration of life. When bumps on the road were encountered, they responded and looked after our interests. The slide show for dad brought tears to our eyes. Tom incorporated the music from a Yukon artist dad really liked, into his service. We couldn’t ask for anything more. Thank you so much! 

Tom Elliot & Family

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Thank you for everything. Words cannot express how wonderful you were through this horrible time. Losing Laverne was the hardest thing we've been through and you were there for us. You feel like family. Thank you for your knowledge and compassion.

Tish Bowles & family

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We'd like to thank you again for being with us at the time of Aunt Doris' passing. Your attention to detail and compassion was appreciated and did not go unnoticed by Brenda and I and our family.

Paul & Brenda (McKay)

 

Dear Anne, Tom, and Staff:

A very special thank-you for your professional and caring manner in arranging the Celebration of Al's life. You made a trying and difficult situation more manageable. there is no doubt Garafraxa Hill Funeral Home is a valuable asset to our community.

James and Shirley Wallace

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Anne, Tom, Georgina & wonderful staff members!

On behalf of the Wood and McGregor families, we would like to personally thank you from the bottom of our hearts for ensuring every detail of the service reflected our fathers/ Harold's wishes. Your services were appreciated more than you know.

(Family of Harold Wood)

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Thank you so much for getting us through such a hard time. Your caring words and actions are what make you special people. We certainly are missing our Andy.

Lorrie, Jessica, Matthew, and the Neelands family

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We would like to thank you very much for your professional and compassionate care of all of our family at this difficult time in our lives. Every detail was addressed by you and your wonderful staff. Your willingness to take direction from Pastor Dunlop was important to us and we appreciate all the extra care you took in that regard. You should be very proud of your staff and the warm, welcoming feeling at Garafraxa Hill. 

George, Linda & Jim, Lloyd & Catherine, Irma & Al, and families

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Anne and Tom, as we approach the one-year anniversary of our beloved Joan Lee (Thompson)’s journey from this earth, we wanted to reach out and let you know once again what an amazing, comforting, supported, healing journey it was to work with you, to ensure the “final send-off” for her was all we felt she would want and all we envisioned it to be! From the moment of our first phone call as we sat in the hospital quiet room, still in shock from her passing; to each time we called, emailed, spent time at your table preparing for the service and celebration of life, you both worked tirelessly to listen to us, to comfort, to take the “reins” when needed and to step back with grace when we wanted to take on a task. You took care of every detail from preparing a special viewing for Grandma and immediate family, to welcoming the “fur grand babies!”, to getting Mabel Williamson, Harpist, and Chris MacDougald, Piper, including the lighting of the qulliq (Inuit stone lamp) ceremony, to working closely with dear friend Reverend Kristal McGee, to the coordination of the gathering lunch prepared by the Legion Women and much more. The preparation of the slideshow accompanied by some of Mom’s favourite music and ours, was so appreciated! You saw when it became overwhelming to pull together all the photos and
get it done and took that on with ease! When one first walks into Garafraxa Hill, one knows it is a special place, steeped in community
history and brought back to life in a way that celebrates and makes space for community. You are gifted people who make the walk together with families such a supportive, caring and person specific and dedicated one. Thanks, is not enough! So grateful you offer this service and that we chose you folks to take care of that part of the journey for us! With gratitude
Nancy and Cathy Lee (daughters) and Ciera and Caitlin Lee-Kooneeliusie (granddaughters)
The Thompson and Austin Families

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Dear Anne & Tom:

Just a quick note to say "thank-you" for all you did to help us through a very difficult time. Your warmth, kindness, and caring was very much appreciated, as was your guidance and professionalism throughout the entire process of celebrating Merv's life. I am so glad that we were able to have such a wonderful service for him- we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you for working so hard to pull everything together so beautifully!

Also, thank you for all the little extras; precious keepsakes to share with family and friends for years to come.

Kathy Wyville & Family

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Dear Anne, Tom, & staff of Garafraxa Hill Funeral Home Re: James Baker
When the light dimmed in our lives, you were there for us, shining brightly, bringing our family direction and suggestions!
Our huge family (7 siblings and mom) could have posed a challenge, however Anne, you directed us in such a professional yet caring manner...we were relieved of many details that you and your staff took care of.
Thank you for opening your beautiful funeral home to host dad's Celebration of Life. Dad always loved a party and one of the hardest parts was not having dad with us to celebrate. (From the moment dad attended funeral visitations at your funeral home, he spoke regarding his wish to have his final celebration with your Garafraxa Hill home.
The many details of dad's life; website information, CFOS radio, local paper, creation of the DVDin which you, Anne, captured dad singing, brought tears to our eyes and took our breath away...we will forever “hear and see” him with your precious gift...Thank you! Our family cannot say enough regarding your support during our time of letting go. Thank you for providing such a wonderful day of celebration in memory of dad...”one picture says a thousand words” and you Anne had hundreds to work with! 
Sincerely, Brenda, Allan, Bonnie, Barbie, Debbie, mom (Isabell), Chris, Jamie, and the entire Baker family and partners.

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We are so grateful to Anne and Tom for the beautiful celebration of life they created for our Mom, Dawn Blackman.  Mom wanted a unique type of remembrance, and with Anne and Tom's help and guidance we created just that. They supported us through a very difficult time with understanding and compassion.  They took our ideas, made suggestions as to what we needed, and ensured that nothing was missed.  Anne suggested live music and found us a fantastic fiddle player! They took care of everything, which is such a relief. The Garafraxa Hill Funeral Home is beautiful both inside and out.
Thank you so much from the Blackman family

Jenny Mackey

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Thank you for all your support and assistance with arrangements for my mom. You and your staff have been so kind and accommodating and that certainly makes a difficult process so much easier. Thank you for everything you have done for or family.

(Family of Eleanor Walker)

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Thank you Anne and Tom for the beautiful service you arranged for my dad. I cannot say enough about the compassion, care and kindness that you showed to my family, especially to my mom at such a difficult time. The simple hugs and words of reassurance were heartfelt and beyond our expectations. Anne and Tom covered every detail before, during, and after the funeral. Anne went out of her way to call my mom after the funeral to see how she was doing and encouraged mom to come and talk to her if
she ever needed someone to.  Additionally, Anne offered mom several books on grieving to help mom understand the stages of grieving and to reassure her that what she was feeling was normal.  Although these may seem like simple gestures, it was these little details that my mom found comfort in...so of course the rest of the family appreciate the support and kindness Anne extending beyond just the service itself. Again, showing the personal, professional, and compassionate service Garafraxa Hill Funeral Home offers. Lastly, I have been to many funerals at several homes, but none have every compared to the service Garafraxa Hill. I would whole heartedly
recommend Garafraxa Hill Funeral Home for your loved ones celebration of life, funeral, and or good bye celebration. Thank you Anne and Tom for all you have done....my dad would have been so proud.

With love, respect, and appreciation,
Tammy Hill and family

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Thank you Anne and Tom for guiding us through the arrangements for Dieter's funeral. You listened with both your ears and your hearts as to who Dieter was to each of us and you “nailed it”. The memorial card, visitations, funeral and Service of Committal are a tribute to your professionalism and attention to detail. Above all, you have made yourself available to us at any time to discuss any questions we have had. You are genuinely sincere and caring, with concern for our whole family's welfare. We have shared these sentiments with many and will continue to do so. The Lord bless you and your business.

The Schoen family

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There is no other place than the Garafraxa Funeral Home that I would have wanted my Mom’s celebration of life to be. The beautiful, elegant, warm and welcoming historic building itself was renovated with the utmost passion, love, and extreme hard work and sweat of the owners themselves: Anne, Tom and Georgina. And by the end of the experience, one feels that these lovely souls have loved and grieved with you as part of the family. They will go to extreme lengths to find and add personalized little details to ensure that your gathering to honour and celebrate your dearly departed loved one’s life is special and everything that you want it to be.

My family and I feel such deep appreciation and will be forever grateful for everything that Anne, Tom and Georgina did for us during a most difficult time.  And if I may quote Heather Walters, who put it so beautifully and aptly in her testimonial: "My experience with Garafraxa allowed the tragedy of my Mom's death to become a part of her beautiful life" thanks to the care, respect, love, dignity and class with which they created for us a most special and fitting celebration of life for my much-loved mother, Madonna Currie.    

Sincerely,
Becky McKnight (Daughter of the late Madonna Currie)

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At the time of my father’s death, my children ranged in age from 6 to 11. Anne quickly recognized that in addition to the grief my mother, my sisters and I were experiencing, my young children were also grieving the loss of their Grandfather. Anne & her family anticipated the individual needs of the kids exceptionally well throughout the visitations and the day of the funeral. Not only were they patient and understanding, they took the time to get to know each of the kids individually and were there to offer support and answer questions in a way that the kids could understand. The kids were made to feel comfortable with their grief, given special attention and treated with a kindness and respect that is generally only given by a close friend or family member.

Thanks Anne, my wife and I believe the grieving process for our children was made much easier because of our family's choice to use Garafraxa Hill.

Don Farrow, son of Gordon Farrow

 

When our father passed away suddenly last fall, we were faced with helping our mother make a number of decisions that we were not expecting to be making for a few years. From the very first call to Anne, her kindness, compassion and ability to relate to all members was beyond reproach. Her guidance and assistance was instrumental in assisting us move forward at a very sad time in our lives. The well-being of Mom, us, our spouses and our children were paramount to every action Anne took. Anne and her family showed a genuine concern for our immediate family and those coming to pay their respects at all times. Having a facility such as Garafraxa Hill so close to home was exactly what we needed at a very difficult time for us and we are grateful for everything Anne was able to do for our family at the time.

Darlene Farrow-Baird, Arden Farrow-Scott & Don Farrow - children of Gordon Farrow. 

 

Like most families-we had not done any pre planning for my Dad's funeral until the time came-this spring My Dad was born and raised on the second of Holland-so having the service at the local funeral home in Chatsworth was the choice. Many of us had spent time in the building when it had been the hotel-My Dad had enjoyed many laughs and stories with his friends there-so it seemed even more fitting to have his final ggodbye there-and a Celebration of his Life there. It is hard to describe the warmth and understanding my family felt on first meeting Anne-there was a sincerity and caring that went way beyond this being just a job for her. With the help of her partner Tom and Mom-Georgina-we worked our way through a day of immense sadness in Dad's death-to a reassurance that everything we needed would be taken care of by Anne. It is not an experience we look forward to-but the reality is that we all will have to face this at some time in our lives-I cannot express my thanks enough from my family to Anne and her staff for getting us through this difficult time in our lives. Family of Bud McComb

 

 

"I appreciated how easy they made transferring a prepaid funeral from another funeral home to Chatsworth.  Simply,  just a phone call and a  signature. It felt good to be back in my area.They upheld all financial agreements and services which had been previously arranged,without any hesitation.Their excellent service was provided with dignity and thoughtfulness."

George  Kuhl  

 

 

Dear Anne, Tom, Georgina and Staff,
We the family of John Jack MacLeod really appreciate everything that was done. As a big family you met our needs! Each one of you that day became a part of our family! You opened your hearts and your arms. Your patience was truly shown! 
The family of John (Jack) MacLeod

 

 

I feel that I'd like to say again just how much holding Mom's 'good-bye party' at your 'home' was very healing and comforting to me. Your warmth, compassion and efficient manner made preparing a funeral comparable to planning a wedding or anniversary party - in a very short time. The space you gave us for the tears, laughter and memories became part of the celebration. That same space allowed for all of our individuality, decisions and grief. Thank you for this. Your tears and compassion made it feel like you knew Mom well and your concern for Dad during and after the funeral was touching and appreciated. Every moment of your catering was kind, patient, professional and thoughtful.
The details and our needs were looked after exactly as needed, with respect. Thank you for changing the experience of the business of death into a memorable, soothing celebration of life. My experience with Garafraxa allowed the tragedy of Mom's death to become part of her beautiful life. Seeing family and friends experience the same added to this ease.
It is a comfort knowing that your service for our community is there for us when needed.

Heather Walters (The family of Lola Neelands)