Martyn Funeral Home

11/26/2025

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11/17/2025

when somebody else tries
to tell you how you should grieve

smile and forgive them
through your watering eyes

and then imagine
how lonely it must be
to be the person who
audits the tears
of other people

the well intended
will tell you how
long you should miss
your beloved

but

~~~you take your time

grief is a hedge maze
and being lost inside of it
is more than okay

don't race through
your heartache

because you might
just miss a miracle
or two

in the teardrops rolling
down your face

don't grieve quickly
just to make somebody
else feel better

if you need to,
let your grief
become a coral reef

let the algae of your hurt
slowly form over the years
into the softest violet hue of heaven

it can take two lifetimes to recover

when our beloved becomes
an empty chair

it's okay

take as much time
as you need

your healing is your healing

and the scars of absence
will itch longer than you can imagine

but that is because you
risked to love so deeply

and that is far better than
the alternative

I am proud of you

and the courage it
takes for you to grieve
so fearlessly

don't listen to those
who want you to go back
to normal

normal will never exist again
for those of us who have
lost a part of our heart

if the moon broke in half
would it feel normal?

~ to hell with normal

normal was their scent on your collar
normal was their voice resting in your ear
normal was their touch on your skin

you have a new normal now

it's looking at the shape of clouds
for messages from the great beyond
that your beloved is fine

you have a new normal now

it's building a cabin in
the woods of your memory
where you and your beloved
can meet for lunch

you have a new normal now

it's crying and laughing
at the same time
whenever their favorite
song plays on the radio

grief isn't the enemy
of life

numbness is

don't become numb to your suffering

welcome your grief
inside and let it wrap you
up like a blanket
whenever shows up
at your door

~ it's okay

I swear

~ it's okay

your beloved misses you just
as much as you miss them

and someday
you two will
get all tangled up
together again

someday
you two will
push each on a
swing again under
a shower of falling blooms

and someday
you two will ride
comets together
on the edge of everything

and someday
you two will giggle
at all of the people
who tried to tell you

how to grieve

~ John Roedel

(from “Upon Departure”)

~ image by Akira Kusaka

11/15/2025

Now Hiring: On-Call Removal Team Member

Northern Removal Service is looking for a dedicated and compassionate individual to join our removal team on an on-call basis. This role involves assisting with removals from hospitals, nursing homes, private residences, the crematorium, and coroner’s calls.

Requirements:

Must live locally (North Bay and surrounding area)

Physically able to lift and carry - sometimes with a partner, sometimes solo

Available for on-call hours (including evenings, nights, and weekends)

Respectful, professional, and able to maintain strict confidentiality and discretion

Comfortable working in sensitive situations and providing dignified care

This is an important and meaningful role, providing essential service and support to families in their time of need.

📞 If you are interested, please contact Claudette & Gord Fricker at 705-494-8344, or send your resume to: cfricker@bell.net.

11/11/2025

Written by Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in May 1915:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

11/03/2025

There's always next year!!! 💙❤️🇨🇦

11/03/2025

It takes a village to grieve. 🩷

10/30/2025

Life goals. ❤️

10/27/2025

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The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network - PAIL Network is hosting a Family Activity in North Bay on Wednesday, November 19th from 6–8 pm at Nipissing Serenity Hospice (799 John Street, North Bay). Families are welcome to come together for connection, activities, and support. There is no cost to attend.
Please register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NorthBayFamilyEvent. For more information, please contact Loralee at loralee.mcinroy@sunnybrook.ca. All families are welcome. 💜
_________
Le réseau Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network organise une activité familiale à North Bay le mercredi 19 novembre, de 18 h à 20 h à la Maison Sérénité du Nipissing (799, rue John, North Bay). Les familles sont invitées à se réunir pour échanger, participer à des activités et se soutenir mutuellement. La participation est gratuite.
Veuillez vous inscrire ici : https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NorthBayFamilyEvent. Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter Loralee à l'adresse loralee.mcinroy@sunnybrook.ca. Toutes les familles sont les bienvenues. 💜

10/21/2025

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The Bereavement Authority of Ontario works for you and your as a , not-for-profit organization. We do that by making sure care businesses and licensed follow the law, and provide them with guidance. The vast majority are indeed professionals. The few that are not compliant face licence conditions, suspensions, revocations, and other Registrar's actions. Learn more about us at https://thebao.ca/

10/15/2025

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Today, we hold space for the babies who were loved deeply but gone too soon, and for the parents, families, and friends who carry their memory in their hearts. You are not alone.

At 7 p.m. local time, join the by lighting a candle to honour these precious angels.

10/15/2025

We all say, “things don’t matter, people do.”
But take a quiet walk through your closet, your kitchen, or that box tucked in the corner you haven’t opened in years, and ask yourself: if things don’t matter, why are you still holding on?

The truth is, we’re not just keeping stuff. We’re keeping stories; proof of who we’ve been, what we’ve survived, and the people we’ve loved. In Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, Matt Paxton steps into that tender space between sentiment and clutter, helping us untangle what we own from what truly matters. His words show you how to hold on to life more gently.

Here are five powerful lessons from the book that might change the way you see your belongings—and yourself:

1. Your things tell your story, but they’re not your story.
Paxton reminds us that our memories live within us, not in the items we cling to. That cracked mug, the worn-out sweater, the stack of old birthday cards—they’re beautiful reminders, but they are not the memory itself. The heart remembers far better than the hands ever could.

2. Clutter is rarely about space—it’s about emotion.
Behind every pile lies a feeling: grief, guilt, nostalgia, fear of forgetting. We don’t hoard objects; we hold onto emotions we haven’t fully faced. Clearing space, then, becomes less about organization and more about healing.

3. Legacy is what we leave in people, not to them.
We often imagine passing things down as love—but our children and loved ones don’t need boxes full of what we couldn’t part with. They need our stories, our lessons, our laughter. Real legacy lives in connection, not in cardboard.

4. Letting go isn’t losing—it’s choosing.
Decluttering isn’t about giving up your past. It’s about curating it. Choosing what stays helps you see what truly defines your life. In this way, letting go becomes an act of self-respect—a conscious decision to live lighter and freer.

5. Memories deserve intentional homes.
Paxton encourages us to honor our past in creative, meaningful ways—digitize photos, frame that one special letter, write the story behind an heirloom before releasing it. When done with love, letting go doesn’t erase the memory; it elevates it.

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff reminds you that freedom isn’t found in a bigger space, but in a lighter heart. You don’t need another bin or label maker.
You need clarity, courage, and compassion—for the person you were, and the one you’re still becoming. And that’s exactly what this book helps you find.

10/12/2025

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Thanksgiving is not the same for everyone.

Emergency services often see an increase in domestic and intimate partner violence, and mental health–related calls over holiday weekends. The mix of stress, alcohol, and loneliness, among other factors, can make an already difficult situation worse.

If this Thanksgiving doesn’t feel safe, please reach out:

📞9-1-1 in an emergency
📞988 for mental health and su***de support
📞Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
📞Talk 4 Healing Line: 1-855-554-HEAL (4325)
📞211 for local shelters and crisis services
📞LGBT YouthLine: 647-694-4275

Check in on your friends, family, and neighbours.
No one should feel unsafe at home — not on Thanksgiving, not ever.

You are not alone.