The Westlock Funeral Home and Crematorium is one of Westlock’s longest standing businesses, located at 10004 105 Street, providing a necessary service to the community for over 100 years! We are honored to show our appreciation in recognition of their dedicated service as they celebrate their 101st year of operation this September!
The Westlock Funeral Home provides so much more than a funeral service to their clients. Not only with the experience of a beautiful service and the after care of the deceased, they do so with a heart-felt compassion and tenderness that is widely recognized and appreciated by many families in the community. The directors top priority is to ensure the most meaningful and memorable memorial for the loved ones left in their care, whether that be a formal service, a celebration of life, earth burial or even providing a pre-arrangement plan. They will go above and beyond to incorporate the smallest details into a service as a means of providing their clients with something special, unique and unforgettable. From special gel pens for memorial notes to specific mints from Holland, owner’s Duane & Heidi Magus handle their services with an incredible amount of grace and benevolence.
Duane and Heidi have made it a priority to assist their grieving clients in all matters that arise with the passing of a loved one. They make sure that every element in this difficult process is taken care of. Each client will receive a detailed list of everything that requires attention at the time of a passing, including many things that would likely not be thought of in those moments of bereavement. Duane and Heidi will tend to all transactions required such as the ordering of the casket and monument, the cemetery internment, ordering the flowers, arranging the caterer, and however else they can offer assistance. Heidi expressed, “our goal is to take the onus and the extra stress off of the family”, followed up by Duane adding “we believe in the trust that we establish with the people we are working with.”
Although Duane and Heidi have been doing a tremendous job operating their facility for the last 5 years, there have been a few owners over the 101 years of operation, as you could imagine. Many may remember Bob and Betty Jones, the previous owners of the Westlock Funeral Home. Bob and Betty owned and operated the facility for the longest period of time, marking nearly 40 years.
The Westlock Funeral Home was originally founded in the early 1920’s by F.H. “Farmer” Steele from 1923-1928. Then passed onto James “Jimmy” and Libby Hunter from 1928-1953. Next, onto William Henry “Harry” Peter from 1953-1959, and lastly Ron and Barb Johnson from 1960-1980, leading up to the long standing ownership of Bob and Betty Jones from 1980-2019.
Duane, however, started his journey with the Westlock Funeral Home in 1994, and began his apprenticeship under Bob in 1998. Duane has always had a passion for funeral directing, so as he began to invest his time into the profession, Bob quickly became a cherished and knowledgeable mentor for him. After making a few moves throughout the years, Duane and Heidi decided on moving to Westlock to put down roots. Duane had the opportunity to manage the Rose Garden Chapel in Barrhead for several years until Bob and Betty made the decision to retire and pass on the business to their trusted associates, Duane and Heidi, knowing their business would be left in good hands. As Heidi stated, “not only was Bob passing down a business, he was handing down a service that was family owned and operated for many years. We recognized the importance of keeping that quality of service for the community.” They still remain quite close with Bob and Betty which has been a valuable asset in understanding the history of the facility and a resource for any additional questions that may come up.
Given the nature of the business, it is important to Duane and Heidi that they instill a family culture into the workplace. This can be a very high-stress job with an emotional aspect tied into it. They do their best to keep the days light and comforting, while continually checking in with their staff and making them feel at home with little things such as birthday celebrations and congratulatory achievements.
When asked the question, “how do you measure success within your business?” the answer, undoubtably, was not a standard reply given the nature of the business. Success to Duane and Heidi is not any financial indicators, it is seeing their services provide a moment of solitude to grieving families. It is ensuring a service of excellence and providing continuing care to those families; creating a level of trust within the community, knowing that families can sit with them and have the confidence that in that very moment, that all of their stresses are being taken care of. And then there is the wholesomeness that comes with returning families, or members of the community who have attended a service and feel comfortable and secure going to the Westlock Funeral Home, should their support be required.
The Westlock Funeral Home is a unique organization as it is the only family-owned and operated funeral home in the area. Many funeral homes are now owned by larger corporations, where some of the personable touches get lost. Not only do Duane and Heidi provide quality care of an exceptional standard, they offer many rare additions such as finger printing, DNA preservation, turning cremated remains into diamonds, and even fraud protection. Support, however, does not end within the confinements of the funeral home walls, Duane and Heidi are frequently involved in the community and always finding ways to support and give back such as organizing fundraising events, like their annual Shredding Event, where they sponsor the shredding truck to come to town and donate any proceeds to a local non-profit organization.
In closing, Duane and Heidi wish to remind everyone of the importance of having something in place, whether that be a will and/or discussion of future plans, this is often an over-looked aspect of life but yet is an invaluable preparation to have in place. “Coffee’s always on, come in and chat with us.”
Please join us in celebrating the Magus family for their continued dedication and support to the community and the Westlock Funeral Home in commemorating 101 years in servicing Westlock and area.
