Cemetery & Bereavement Support

Lakeview Memorial Cemetery

Silvermere's Lakeview Memorial Cemetery is at 300 Cedar Flats Road, just off Highway 3. It's operated by the City of Silvermere under Bylaw 571 (Cemetery). The grounds are open during daylight hours for visiting; interments are coordinated through City staff.

Interment options

Lakeview Memorial offers four main types of interment:

• Standard in-ground burial (traditional casket)
• Double-deep burial (accommodates a casket plus cremated remains, or two caskets over time, for couples)
• In-ground cremated remains plots (smaller footprint for cremation)
• Columbarium niches (above-ground individual niches for urns)
• Ossuary (shared above-ground structure for cremated remains, including a dedicated ossuary reserved for veterans)

Cemetery fees (resident / non-resident)

Opening and closing fees, and applicable taxes, are separate. Non-residents pay 50% more across all categories.

Confirm current pricing and the full fee schedule with City Hall before making arrangements; Bylaw 117 is the authoritative source.

Interment hours

Interments are generally scheduled Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (excluding statutory holidays). Weekend and holiday interments are possible subject to staff availability and an additional fee. Your funeral home will coordinate the scheduling with the City.

Markers, plaques, and decorations

Marker specifications, plaque sizes, and decoration rules are set under Bylaw 117 (Cemetery). Your funeral home or monument supplier will work within those rules. Installation fees for markers and plaques are separate from the interment fee.

Emotional support is local, free, and confidential

Grief is its own kind of work. Silvermere has a strong hospice and counselling network ready to walk alongside you, before, during, and after a death.

Silvermere Hospice Society

The Silvermere Hospice Society is a charitable organization that provides no-cost spiritual, emotional, and practical support to people facing a life-threatening illness and their families. Trained volunteers are matched with clients for companionship, respite, and end-of-life support.

• Phone: 250-555-0100
• Office: 709 10th Street, Room 20, Silvermere
• Office hours: Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Bereavement programs including the “Living with Loss” walking group

Grief counselling

Several registered clinical counsellors in Silvermere and the greater Highlands specialize in grief, loss, and life transitions. Good starting points include:

• Counselling BC's directory of Silvermere-area grief & loss counsellors
• Psychology Today's listing of Silvermere therapists
• Your family doctor can also refer you into publicly funded mental-health services through West Highlands Health.

If you're in crisis right now

Grief can come with moments that are harder than the rest. If you are thinking about harming yourself, please reach out:

• 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline), call or text, 24/7, free, bilingual
• 310-6789 (BC Mental Health Support Line) no area code, 24/7, free
• 9-1-1 for an immediate emergency

Funeral services in and near Silvermere

The local funeral home handles the heavy lifting of death registration, transport, service planning, and cemetery coordination.

• Silvermere Funeral Chapel 411 9th Avenue, Silvermere. 250-555-0100. Full funeral, burial, and cremation services including pre-arrangements.
• Highlands Funeral Services based in Millhaven, BC; serves Silvermere and the broader West Highlands region.

The practical paperwork, in roughly the order you’ll need it

In BC, the funeral director is authorized by the province to register the death and issue the death certificate and disposition permit, the first two steps below are handled for you. Everything after is the executor’s work, often spread over several weeks.

1. Death certificate (first). The funeral home registers the death with BC Vital Statistics and orders the initial certified copies. Order more than you think you’ll need, every institution wants its own original copy, so families typically need somewhere between half a dozen and a dozen. Additional copies can be ordered any time from BC Vital Statistics.
2. Disposition permit. The funeral home handles this for the cemetery or crematorium.
3. Banks and joint accounts. Each financial institution holding accounts will need a death certificate and either the will or letters probate.
4. Service Canada (CPP and OAS). Apply for the CPP Death Benefit, Survivor’s Pension, and Children’s Benefit. Stop OAS payments to avoid overpayment recovery later.
5. Pension plans, life insurance, employers. Each provider has its own claim form.
6. ICBC and vehicle transfers if vehicles are involved.
7. Land titles, probate, will execution. A probate lawyer typically takes the lead here.
8. Last will and testament + government-issued ID for the deceased and the executor will be requested at multiple steps; keep copies handy.

For veterans and their families

Lakeview Memorial Cemetery maintains a dedicated ossuary reserved for veterans, with reduced-fee cremated remains interment. Families of veterans should also contact:

• Royal Canadian Legion local branch support, colour-party presence at services, and veteran advocacy.
• Veterans Affairs Canada Funeral & Burial Program may cover funeral, burial, and grave-marking costs for eligible veterans. Apply through the Last Post Fund.

If cost is a concern

A death can strain a family's finances at the worst possible time. Options for families of modest means:

• CPP Death Benefit , a one-time payment (currently $2,500 for eligible contributors) paid to the estate or the person who paid funeral expenses. Apply through Service Canada.
• BC Funeral Services Association the funeral home can discuss payment options and simpler service formats.
• Ministry of Social Development emergency supplement for funeral costs may be available for low-income residents. Ask the funeral home to help you apply.
• The veteran ossuary at Lakeview Memorial is the lowest-cost option for a veteran ($150 resident).
• The public ossuary is the lowest-cost option for cremated remains for non-veterans ($300 resident).

Visiting the cemetery

Lakeview Memorial is a quiet place and a working landscape; staff maintain grounds during business hours. When you visit:

• Grounds are open during daylight hours.
• Follow posted rules about decorations, plantings, and marker types.
• Remove seasonal decorations after the season ends so staff can maintain plots around you.
• If a marker, decoration, or landscaping feature has shifted or become damaged, email cemetery@silvermere.example.