Saint John NB Funeral Homes

Saint John NB Obituaries and Funeral Related News

Funeral today for Fredericton woman police say was victim of homicide - CBC.ca

Teri-Lynn Backs as a 'fighter' who 'pushed herself even when she felt like quitting. She knew she had to keep going for her daughter.' (Submitted)Stevens was born in Saint John on Jan. 20, 1987, to Alexander Stevens and the late Violet Abigosis. As a child, she was placed in foster care.Close friend Teri-Lynn Backs described her as "the strongest person I know," saying the two shared an instant connection."I also grew up in the foster system," Backs said. "That is what bonded us instantly. … I met her through an ex-boyfriend. We were both in very toxic, abusive relationships. She helped [me] escape mine." Backs said she watched Stevens put herself through school at the Majestany Institute, study late into the night and get up early in the morning as a single mother."She was so proud of herself for completing school with the marks she had," Backs said. "She pushed herself even when she felt like quitting. She knew she had to keep going for her daughter. … She was a fighter."When Backs managed to get clean from drugs, Stevens was "so proud of me," she said."I wish I could have saved her the way she saved me."'Excellent' mom'We all want to know what happened,' said Stevens's friend Ashley Denny, who lives in Woodstock. 'We want to know why it happened.' (Ed Hunter / CBC)Ashley Denny met Stevens in 2006 in Woodstock. She said Stevens spent several years living with a friend on Woodstock First Nation, a small Wolastoqey community.Denny was "shocked" when her sister, Chrissy Denny, and another friend drove from Fredericton to break the news of Stevens's death in person.Stevens was "there for me a lot," Denny said, adding ...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/candance-stevens-fredericton-funeral-1.4887442

Surviving the death care business - CBC.ca

MacDonald, a funeral director and embalmer at Brenan's Funeral Home in Saint John."My mom caught me one day because I was stealing her spatula from the kitchen and her gardening gloves, and she figured out what I was up to."This intrigue with the idea of what happens when something or someone dies, and the rituals surrounding death, led MacDonald to a career in what the industry calls death care."It was sort of a, 'I need to take care of these people, I need to take care of these things, and this is what I have to do.' Even as a small child I knew this."Compassion fatigue, unconventional hoursMacDonald, 34, is coming up to her 11th year working with Brenan's. Before that, she spent two years apprenticing at a funeral home in Sussex.Of the 10 people in her 2008 class from the Nova Scotia Community College's program in funeral and allied health services, two are still working in the field.Not many people even stuck with it five years, MacDonald said."Some of it is burnout. You have to make sure with all the stress you deal with on a daily basis you know how to relax yourself, how to unwind."The New Brunswick Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association doesn't keep statistics on retention rates, however, funer...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sharlene-macdonald-brenans-funeral-director-saint-john-1.5044719

Regimental funeral to be held Aug. 18 for 2 Fredericton officers killed in shooting - CBC.ca

Books of condolences are also being set up at Fredericton City Hall and the Saint John Police Force's headquarters next week for members of the public to sign.Constables Lawrence Robert (Robb) Costello, 45, and Sara Mae Helen Burns, 43, were killed while responding to reports of gunfire at an apartment complex on the 200 block of Brookside Drive at 7:10 a.m. AT on Friday.They were shot as they approached two civilians who were lying on the ground. Couple, Donald Adam Robichaud, 42, and Bobbie Lee Wright, 32, also died Friday."Our thoughts and prayers are now with the families, friends and colleagues of the two brave police officers who gave their lives in order to protect and serve, and with the families of the other two victims of this senseless act of violence," Fredericton Mayor Mike O'Brien said in a statement Sunday.Fredericton police Chief Leanne Fitch thanked the public for the outpouring of support, "as demonstrated by the flowers and cards that are left in front of the police station."Everyone in our community is hurting with the deaths of four of our citizens, but the support of the community to our fallen officers, the two others killed and all of their families and friends is appreciated," she said in an emailed statement.Citizens lined up outside the Fredericton police station on Sunday to hug or shake the hands of officers. (Wildinette Paul/Radio-Canada)In Fredericton, the book of condolences for the families, friends and colleagues of the two fallen officers will be available ...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fredericton-shooting-police-funeral-book-condolences-1.4782520

Sanaz Shirshekar Envisions Saint John As 'Playground For Architects To Experiment' - Huddle Today

SAINT JOHN – Like many young people looking to study art, Sanaz Shirshekar's parents were concerned about her career prospects. "I was always really passionate about design and art. I originally wanted to take an art history path or just a fine arts path," says Shirshekar. "But my parents are Middle-Eastern and they're traditional, so they wanted more of a professional degree." Looking for a way to leverage her love of art that would also provide a stable career, Shirshekar looked into studying architecture. "Architecture and art are so intertwined. Often, architects look at art for inspiration. The way an artist will approach a painting or an idea. I think you can still be very creative and you have to be very creative," she says. "If you're a good architect, you have the responsibility to be a good designer and be innovative. It allowed me to do both." It also allowed her to work at two renowned firms in Canada and the United States and has now brought the Toronto-born architec...
https://huddle.today/sanaz-shirshekar-envisions-saint-john-as-a-playground-for-architects-to-experiment/

Convicted sex offender Donnie Snook allowed escorted absence from prison - CBC News

Former Saint John city councillor Donnie Snook has been granted an escorted temporary absence from prison following the death of his father.Police say Snook, who is serving an 18-year prison sentence for abusing boys in two provinces, will be in St. John's, N.L., until Saturday.Correctional Service Canada notified the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary of Snook's arrival in St. John's earlier this week, according to Const. James Cadigan."He's only permitted to attend particular locations in the accompaniment of correctional officers and he'll be returned," Cadigan said.Snook's father died Feb. 24. The funeral will be held in St. John's on Friday, according to an obituary.Snook will be held at Her Majesty's Penitentiary, a provincial jail, overnight during his time in St. John's, Cadigan said.In 2013, Snook admitted to 46 sex crimes against children, including sexual assault, making and distributing child pornography, and extortion.'He hurt a whol...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/snook-temporary-absence-1.5037098

Surviving the death care business - CBC.ca

MacDonald said."Some of it is burnout. You have to make sure with all the stress you deal with on a daily basis you know how to relax yourself, how to unwind."The New Brunswick Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association doesn't keep statistics on retention rates, however, funeral homes are "constantly looking for licensed funeral directors," said executive director Marc Melanson.While the pay can be appealing - $47,319 annually according to the Department of Post Secondary Education Training and Labour - compassion fatigue is a reality, along with unconventional work hours."It's not a Monday to Friday nine-to-five job," said Melanson. "It's evenings, weekends and holidays."People who get into the funeral profession genuinely want to help people. But a funeral home is never closed."Viewing rooms are often rearranged, making physicality a key component of the job. (Sarah Trainor/CBC News)The workday can be fluid and intense. It might start with MacDonald doing prep work on an infant that would afford parents more time with their child, then a full shift in gears to oversee a 103-year-old's celebration of life service in a space filled with laughter."You wear a lot of different hats and it changes so quickly," she said."I could be making funeral arrangements with a family, I could be directing a funeral, I could be painting - like literally building maintenance."We get dirty in our suits. We garden, mow the lawns, wash the cars, we do it all."The job requires a good deal of physicality. Viewing rooms are frequently rearranged to make space for what families want to bring to a visitation. Personal touches have been as dainty as jewelry and as grand as a motorcycle.Some scenes hard to processNot everyone is in a bed when they die, and moving a body can take some physical and mental effort."Some things you see you don't ever forget, and you wish you could. Especially when you walk into a scene where you can imagine their last moments."MacDonald said those moments can be difficult to process."It's hard to think of them as being a person in the way that you're protecting your mental state," she said."You say, 'I have to move them from one place to another,' and after, you reflect on that and think, 'OK, that was a human being and I feel terrible for them. And I'm going to probably have bad dreams for a while....
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sharlene-macdonald-brenans-funeral-director-saint-john-1.5044719

Saskatchewan police officers attend regimental funeral - Global News Regina

Saskatoon Police Service, two from Moose Jaw, and one from Weyburn are representing the south of the province.Three Regina Police Service members who attended are originally from New Brunswick, including one from Fredericton. Let's block ads! (Why?)...
https://globalnews.ca/news/4395856/saskatchewan-police-officers-attend-regimental-funeral/

Sanaz Shirshekar Envisions Saint John As 'Playground For Architects To Experiment' - Huddle Today

It allowed me to do both." It also allowed her to work at two renowned firms in Canada and the United States and has now brought the Toronto-born architect to New Brunswick to start a business of her own. After graduating from architecture school at McGill in 2006, Shirshekar started working for Toronto-based KPMB as a project architect. There, she got to work on projects such as the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, the UBC Alumni Centre, The Globe & Mail's new interior offices and the Fort York Branch Library. "We were aiming for it to be the 100th public library in Toronto, and it turned out to be the 101st," says Shirshekar, "which is still cool." Fort York Branch Library (Image: torontopubliclibrary.ca) From there she went to work in New York with Yabu Pushelberg as a senior designer. She was in the heart of Soho, working on projects that were more private and high-end, including a resort for Hyatt in Los Cabos, Mexico, and a project for a residential client in Bejing. For Shirshekar, it helped make her architecture experience more versatile. "I took that opportunity on because at KPMB I was getting a lot of those community, public space building projects. But I also wanted to be a little bit more seasoned as an architect and get some architectural interior experience," she says. "Yabu Pushelberg is really the expert for that. They are world renowned. They're really good at what they do and they're internationally known for their interior design excellence, so I really wanted to bring the architecture and the interior design together." Shirshekar recently moved to New Brunswick to be with her husband, Jamie Irving, the vice-president of Brunswick News. At that point, she was ready to start her own practice, Studio Shirshekar. "I feel all architects at some point, you feel like you've gotten enough experience and you want to give yourself an opportunity to try it out," she says. "Maybe it's not for everyone, but for me, I think i...
https://huddle.today/sanaz-shirshekar-envisions-saint-john-as-a-playground-for-architects-to-experiment/