New funeral home opens in Steinbach

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This article was published 25/08/2019 (2080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If heavy drapes and dim lighting come to mind when you picture a funeral home, Rob Hiebert thinks you’ll be pleasantly surprised upon entering the foyer of Crossings Funeral Care.

The new full-service funeral home on the north end of Steinbach, which opened last week, was designed with sunlight and social interaction in mind.

Hiebert, Crossings’ owner and managing funeral director, said the modern decor and more open floor plan reflect an attitude shift in funeral planning.

“Funerals are changing more to a celebration of life of our loved ones,” he explained. “The modern look, the openness, the airiness help to portray that although death is difficult, we do want to celebrate life.”

Picture windows were installed in the reception area and 200-seat chapel. Hiebert said he wanted the spaces to be brightly lit, to foster an “atmosphere of community.” A video link in the chapel allows services to be livestreamed in the reception area.

A family room, selection room, offices, and preparation facilities round out the 7,000-sq-ft. space along Highway 12, which hosted its first funeral Saturday. Both casket burial and cremation options are offered at Crossings.

Hiebert, a lifelong New Bothwell resident, entered funeral service in 2001 at the age of 28 as a part-time assistant at Glen Lawn Funeral Home in Winnipeg.

It wasn’t his first foray into community service. Six years earlier, he signed up to fight fires with Hanover Fire Department’s New Bothwell hall, where he is now district chief.

“I still enjoy, to this day, serving the community in that manner,” he said.

In 2004, Hiebert became a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Two years later, he stepped away from funeral service and became operations manager at Bothwell Cheese. The move allowed him to spend more time with his wife, Connie, and their three sons, but Hiebert never let his funeral director license lapse.

“I always knew that someday I would want to go back and serve in that manner,” he said.

In 2016 he returned to funeral service, and began planning his own funeral home.

“I saw that the face of funerals has changed over that period of time. The celebration of life (aspect) became more prominent,” he said.

Noticing fewer funerals were taking place in churches, Hiebert decided against building a very large chapel. He believes funeral homes should complement, not supplant, the church’s role as a gathering place during times of grief. He encourages families to hold smaller memorial services and evening visitations at a funeral home, and large services in a church.

“Being a man of faith, I believe it is important to be able to have your spiritual family walk alongside you,” he explained.

Serving Winnipeg, an ethnically and religiously diverse city, gave Hiebert an abiding appreciation for the viewing, a funeral rite on the decline in some circles but one certain ethnic groups preserve.

“It’s important for our own healing process to be able to see our loved ones one last time…outside of the hospital,” he said.

His time in Winnipeg also taught Hiebert about funeral rites around the world. He has helped arrange funerals for Buddhist and Muslim families, and has extensive experience accommodating lamay, an extended wake or vigil practiced in Filipino communities.

He believes his experiences in Winnipeg will serve him well in the increasingly diverse Southeast region.

“The community has an expectation, and we want to meet and exceed that expectation, of care and of serving the family well,” he said.

Hiebert also caters to an increasing desire for funeral services to be more personalized. He doesn’t mind when families want to place large items, like a motorcycle or a golf cart, at the front of the chapel.

“It reflects the life of the individual,” he said.

When coming alongside grieving families, Hiebert said he draws on advice a pastor once gave him: those who have experienced loss have a responsibility to help others through it.

“Death is a very real part of life, and although we may want to try to ignore it, if we don’t deal with a death properly the first time, it does compound the second time we have to face it.”

Hiebert himself was only 15 when his father, Erwin Hiebert, passed away. He recalled the care and compassion his family received from the funeral director.

Years later, what draws Hiebert to funeral service hasn’t changed.

“I love to hear stories of how people lived their lives, and how they impacted different people in society,” he said.

A grand opening for Crossings Funeral Care is planned for Sept. 8 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.