The Wall-Custance Funeral Home & Chapel has been an integral part of the Guelph and the surrounding area for over 80 years, and the Young family have been part of it for the past four decades.
Scott Young began working Wall-Custance in 1993. Scott and his wife Betty Ann purchased Wall-Custance in 2007.
“We take pride in serving our community and it’s a privilege to work with so many families,” said Scott. “Wall-Custance has been family-owned since the beginning (1941) and has been passed from one family to another to carry on the tradition of service.”
In 2024, Scott will have worked in the funeral industry for 40 years, and as a licensed funeral director for 37 of those years.
Wall-Custance offers traditional, full-service funerals with casket, visitation, as well as cremation, celebrations of life and memorials, and green burial options. However, one service Scott and Betty Ann wanted to highlight is pre-planning funeral arrangements, a trend some are taking advantage of.
“We are here to help guide people,” said Scott. “We wanted to reinforce the importance of pre-planning your funeral arrangements. The act of pre-planning can be such an important thing. When a death occurs, obviously there is a sense of panic and heightened emotions. Families have stated their sense of relief when arrangements were discussed, documented, and even paid in advance. No one escapes end of life, not even the funeral director, from experience, it is much easier to do your due diligence and research when you are well, of sound mind.”
“There are many options and packages to fit each individual and family,” added Betty Ann. “We work with each person and advise them of their options if they desire to pre-pay. There is no pressure. One of the main benefits of pre-paying is guaranteeing today’s prices, we have all seen inflation in the past year. The most consistent comment that we hear is: We wanted to have everything in place for the kids. We hear this for various reasons, but mostly because families are more geographically spread out than ever before.”
Scott Young says there’s been a dichotomy and shift in the family structure that makes pre-planning more important now than ever.
”Having your wishes written down and paid for takes the pressure off,” he said.
“The fact that loved ones can see explicitly documented wishes is so important. They don’t worry about the details, and let these things be taken care of by the funeral home trusted with those wishes.”
Pre-paying is safe. Betty-Ann Young says the process is regulated so the consumer is protected. The money sits with a third party, only to be used at the time of passing, but can be canceled at any time.
Wall Custance understands that conversations about death can be difficult, so the funeral home has free, no-obligation consultations.
“We want people to feel encouraged to just chat with us. We don’t apply pressure, and we keep it light. We are here to answer questions and make people realize pre-arranging isn’t so scary,” she said.
“The consultation is free, you get the information, and you can go. People may come back to it – even a year from now. It’s just a hard thing to talk about, but we’re here every step of the way.”
The Young family remains successful because of the services they offer and the way they treat those who walk in their doors.
“Families want a warm and friendly atmosphere when they’re dealing with such difficult things. We are value-oriented, and we adapt to what families need in both attention and financial details,” said Scott..
“We are conscious of what families need, and make sure they can trust us. We provide exemplary service at reasonable prices and treat people well. That will never change.”
For more information about the funeral home, services they provide, and pre-planning, visit them online here.
Scott and Betty Ann have been grateful for the support from the Guelph and greater Guelph communities. Wall-Custance has been giving back to the community in return in various ways such as gifts to Hospice Wellington, The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital, The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington, but the longest running contribution has been to the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest on the 400 acres of the University of Guelph Arboretum. Well over 20,000 trees have been planted since 1989.
We plant a tree as a living memorial for those we serve. “What started as a modest field in 1989 has grown into a beautiful forest and a living memorial in the centre of Guelph.