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Value-Added service for Albertans 
The Calgary Co-operative Memorial Society (CCMS) was formed more than half a century ago by individuals who didn't want to pay the exorbitant fees for funeral services. Formed and run as a non profit co-operative, we arrange discounted funeral plans for our members in Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Strathmore, High River, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Taber and surrounding areas . Members can save on average $2500-$5000 on their funeral arrangements depending on plan selected . Plans can be prepaid to lock in the price or can be paid at time of need. Our service providers must be locally-owned and operated. 
  • Our non-profit co-op was started in 1965 
  • We have had more than 45,000 members join 
  • An average funeral in Alberta costs $6,000 - $10,000
  • Members can save more than $5000 
  • Our providers are locally-owned and operated
  • ​Members sometimes forget to update their records and give us their email address. Click here to submit yours. ​
  • Membership must be purchased before death.​
  • We are a co-operative and we embrace the same guiding principles as co-ops around the world. 

HIDDEN CAMERA INVESTIGATION OF FUNERAL HOMES ​

CBC teamed up with the Toronto Star to uncover pushy upselling and huge markups at Arbor Memorial, Canada's largest funeral home chain. Follow the hidden cameras into six funeral homes to see what the sales pitch looks like when you're dealing with the death of a loved one. 
Benefits of Membership
  1. Membership in CCMS ensures that your wishes for your final arrangements are respected, and provides you with access to lower priced plans for funeral services from our service providers in southern Alberta. You will receive a Membership Card and Guidance Form as soon as you join.  You can also opt to enter your guidance information into our online registry for access by the funeral home upon need. This simple process allows you to indicate your preferences as to the disposition of your body at the time of death. It also provides your loved ones with important information they'll need to register the death. 
  2. The most important benefit is the peace of mind you gain from knowing that, by putting your affairs in order now, you will be saving your next-of-kin some hasty and painful decisions involving a large amount of money at a time when they are emotionally unprepared to make rational choices. When you join CCMS, you sit down in the peace and quiet of your own home, without pressure, and you make the decisions.
  3. Membership is transferable among all societies in Canada, and indeed among almost all of the more than 180 memorial societies in North America, for a modest charge paid to the new location. If you are planning a move, contact us or do an internet search to find out if there is a Memorial Society in the area you are relocating to. Even if you move, you will remain a member of CCMS which is useful should you move back at a later date.
  4. As an added benefit, children under the age of 18 are covered under their parent's membership until they become an adult.
Your membership also helps other work we do:
  • Through education, we strive to increase public awareness about funeral practices. Each year we host guest speakers on a variety of topics at our annual meeting and other events during the year. As a CCMS member you will not be exposed to high pressure sales tactics from our service providers.  Instead, our service providers will guide you through plan selection and can help you with prepayment solutions (should you choose to do so) at the current rate for CCMS members. 
  • We monitor the whole field of funeral legislation, and advocate for consumer protection. This activity stands to benefit both members and non-members. It is our policy to only negotiate plans with one reputable, locally-owned funeral company per area to ensure best value to our members. Our funeral homes can also extend services beyond city limits for a fee covering travel expenses, allowing more Albertans to benefit from the savings.
  • We encourage anatomical gift-giving. If you are considering body donation or donation of tissues and organs for research, transplant, or teaching purposes, information is available.
  • We help loved ones through the process of dealing with the death of a member by providing valuable guidance and contact information. Follow our step by step process. 
Our Providers and plans 
Join today

BUYER BEWARE

Please note we sometimes receive calls from people thinking the Memorial Society of Alberta is the same as the Calgary Co-operative Memorial Society (CCMS). CCMS is owned by its members. We only contract with locally-owned and operated service providers. While the Memorial Society of Alberta is a legitimately registered society, it is owned by Dignity Memorial. Dignity is a large network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers with thousands of funeral homes across Canada. The parent company of Dignity is Service Corporation International, an American provider of funeral  goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas. SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries in 43 states, eight Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico. Read this concerning article on SCI by Bloomberg. 
Complete your guidance form 
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Dealing with the death of a Member
If you are faced with dealing with the death of a family member with a CCMS membership, please contact our service provider in your area. You will receive immediate assistance with no pressure to make additional purchases. The funeral home representative will verify membership and share with you any instructions left by the member. Your next step will be to identify the appropriate plan.  Follow our step by step list...  
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Meet YOur Board of Directors
Mrs. Terry Geib, P.HEc.
Chairperson
Terry joined the board of CCMS in 2009. In April 2017 she retired as a director for Calgary Co-op after serving 15 years on their board.  In addition to Chairing CCMS board meetings, Terry does the writing and graphic design work and leads the strategic planning for CCMS. Terry works full time as a Business & Policy Planner for The City of Calgary.
Mrs. Sylvia Kasper, Retired Lawyer 
Vice Chair
Sylvia joined the board of CCMS in 2007. She is a former crown prosecutor and sits as a member of the Provincial Family Violence Review Committee. She is actively involved in the Calgary Lithuanian Canadian Community. Sylvia currently directs the audit function of the board and assists with the payment processing of new memberships and providing group presentations.
Mrs. Sarah Cantrill
Secretary
Sarah studied Homeopathy in Canada and Australia. She is a former director at the Yoga Sadhana Foundation. Sarah is the the business Development Manager at Glass Guild, Calgary.
Ms. Susan Costello
Treasurer
Susan served on the CARP Board of Directors - Canada’s largest advocacy association for older Canadians. She retired from CARP in 2015 and joined the CCMS board where she continues her advocacy efforts.
Mr. Dyre Scheer-Peters
Director (new)
Dyre joined the board in 2019 after the AGM. Dyre brings skills in composing & arranging music, film directing & producing, and scouting. He is the CEO of Glyndwr Alley Entertainment & Productions.
Ms. Gloria Crofts 
​Director
Gloria was born and raised in Saskatchewan.   She taught school in Saskatchewan and Ontario.   Upon moving to Calgary in 1975, she spent a few years as a stay-at-home mom caring for her two children.  A desire to work outside the home led to 19 years with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.   The death of family members led to her volunteer work in a nursing home in a palliative role. Gloria joined the Board in 2018 and was re-elected in 2019. ​ 
Mr. Jerry Jonasson
Director
Jerry joined the board of CCMS in 2009. He spent
26 years working in the retail automotive as a sales
representative, new vehicle sales manager and fleet and lease manager. He has been with the Kerby Centre for the last 13 years as an advertising consultant. Jerry is on the CCMS marketing and AGM planning committees.
Ms. Nellie Pintus
Director
Nellie is a retired school teacher and avid hiker. She joined the CCMS Board in 1995 and for many years she held the position of Secretary.  Nellie is now in charge of Advertising via personal presentations to groups of 6 or more adults as well as manning booths at functions.  
Myrna  Malanik
Director (new)
Mrs. Patricia Sather
​Director
Myrna joined the board following the AGM in 2019. She is a retired nurse. 
​Patricia (Pat) attended Mount Royal College studying to be a Care Worker for the elderly.  Later in her career Pat became the personal secretary to the President of Fluor Canada, one of the largest Engineering companies in the world.  She also assisted her husband Joe in his real estate business.  Currently she owns a dog grooming business and is in high demand for her services.  
Mr. Peter Stacey-Salmon
Director
Peter joined the board in 2015. He is a retired certified management accountant and he completed some MBA courses at McGill University. Peter brings 40 years’ experience in the business sector and government. Peter served as director of Calgary Co-op from 2004 to 2007
Mr. Mark Farris
Director
​
Mark began his career in the investment industry in 1992 and is currently a Vice President and Portfolio Manager with RBC Dominion Securities in Calgary, primarily serving retirees, those about to retire and their families.  Mark is a past board member with the Calgary Cerebral Palsy Association and the Calgary Food Bank, where Mark took on the role of Treasurer.  Currently Mark volunteers his time with the Foothills Country Hospice Society and the Calgary Food Bank.
Ms. Barb Montgomery
Membership Manager
Barb became the CCMS Membership Manager in January 2017 after a long career as Accounting Manager for a Calgary hotel. Barb's warm and caring personality and attention to detail is appreciated by the entire board.

Our mission

We make funeral planning simple and affordable by providing our members and their families with access to factual funeral information and exceptional funeral services priced below market cost.

Our vision

Every CCMS member receives the type of funeral they want while reducing the hassel, burden and expense for their family. 

CCMS and Servus Credit Union are hosting a special presentation on ​Advanced Care Planning

Please note: Session is now full

Featuring Special Guest Speaker 
Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller
Associate Professor, Lakehead University

​We are pleased to invite Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller to speak to members and their guests on the topic of Advanced Care Planning.

Advanced Care Planning is a process of reflection and communication. It is a time for you to reflect on your values and wishes, and to let people know what kind of health and personal care you would want in the future if you were unable to speak for yourself.

Kathy is the Palliative Care Division Lead at the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. She is also the author of Talking About Death Won't Kill You.
Date and Location:
Tuesday April 16, 2019
2:00 - 4:00pm

Kerby Centre
1133 7 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 1B2

Snacks and refreshments will be served.

The New Calgary Central Library presents:  Discovering What Death Can Teach About Living Fully

 Host: Frank Ostaseski
 
Life and death are a package deal.  They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death.  Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment.  And the good news is we don't have to wait until the end of our lives to realize the wisdom that death has to offer.

We can harness the awareness of death to appreciate the fact that we are alive, to encourage self-exploration, to clarify our values, to find meaning, and to generate positive action.  As we come in contact with life's precarious nature, we also come to appreciate its preciousness.  Then we don't want to waste a minute.  We want to enter our lives full and care for our family, friends, community and planet in a responsible way. 

Frank will draw on the material from his highly acclaimed book The Five Invitations, and synthesize the lessons learned from three decades of being with almost 2000 people through the dying process.  It will be an interactive and contemplative program that will focus on the cultivation of mindfulness and compassion, explore our personal relationship with death and engage us in honest community conversation about what matters most. 

Date and Time : April 5, 2019 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m  - doors will open at 8:30
Cost : Free event. 
Location:  Patricia A. Whelan Performance Theatre,  New Central Library, Calgary   
Register here:  Go to CalgaryPublicLibrary.ca . To register you need to have or get a FREE library membership here

AGM 2019 REVIEW

February 20, 2019
by Will McGlynn
​Alberta Community & Co-operative Association
[Calgary, AB.] It’s that time of year where member co-operatives rally the troops and exercise the inherently co-operative value of democracy. We all know Annual General Meeting’s (AGM) can occasionally be dour and serious (for good reason), however not for ACCA member Calgary Co-operative Memorial Society. Their AGM was a sign of superb member engagement with over 200 of their members heading down to the Kerby Centre on a bright, mild January weekend to exercise their co-operative democracy and catch some delicious refreshments! ​

 CCMS, who provide affordable funeral planning to its members across Southern Alberta, had a fantastic 2018. Board chair Terry Geib outlined the significant progress made on updating their website with fresh information and efforts to improve board
"Superb member engagement and an example of co-op democracy at its finest with over 200 people attending CCMS’ annual general meeting, 26 January 2019". ACCA
governance; where the board of directors attended a two-day governance course and created a new board manual.  We all know that changing the status quo – and change at the best of times – can be a stressful and sensitive matter, particularly when it comes to membership associations. Therefore, their implementation of a transformative new membership management system last fall is commendable. Terry walked members through the updates that enable online membership transactions, permit online membership purchases and will simplify member communications in 2019. 

It was equally a landmark day for long-serving Treasurer Roy Goodall, who thanked members for their support and expressed his enjoyment at serving the members of CCMS upon retiring from the board of directors. His final acts included announcing a healthy financial picture in 2018, bringing on board a new bookkeeper in 2018, and updating members on a new financial reporting procedure. By embracing modern accounting software, the societies’ financial position will become easier for members and directors to understand and help achieve Roy’s belief that “CCMS will go forward as a very successful society” in the future. 

Such a future includes the continuation of the co-operative working co-operatively with the community. Following CCMS’ $1,000 donation, an innovative community partnership between financial co-operative Servus Credit Union, Calgary Centre for Newcomers and the Calgary Zoo sprang into action last summer. Local branch manager Marlene Mullinger explained to attendees how the credit union matched the donation and distributed former zoo wagons filled with essential supplies and canned goods to families in need across the city. 

Before the meeting concluded with a keynote, members grilled directors and representatives from service provider McInnis and Holloway on the differences between a memorial society and a funeral co-operative, expenditure plans for financial reserves, pre-paid funeral arrangements and the benefits of people in their 40’s buying into a funeral plan now as opposed to in 20 years’ time. 
​
With key service contracts coming up for renewal soon, new directors to onboard and the on-the-day membership desk swamped with new member applications, it is shaping up to be another successful year for CCMS.