Learn about our legacy and our commitment to serving families in their time of need.

Our why

We believe that every family deserves a guide who can provide support to manage the details and provide options for the family so they can be fully present during the tough season they are in.

We care that the families receive the care they need at price that is transparent and affordable. We are the original low-cost provider of funeral and cremation services in the Lower Mainland Vancouver Area since 1992. As a Canadian, family-owned & operated business, we’re able to pass the savings to you.

Established as Personal Alternative Funeral Services® in 1992 and re-branded to Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services® in 2011, our goal has always been to provide consumers with a convenient, affordable & common-sense "alternative" to the escalating costs found in most funeral homes. We truly are, the original Alternative.

We’re a full-service funeral provider offering everything from full funeral with burial or cremation; to a Memorial Service or Celebration of Life, or a simple cremation without a service.

Our licensed Funeral Directors come to you to make the final arrangements, so you don’t have to make the trip to a funeral home. You might opt for the comfort of your own home, or anywhere else that allows you to be secure and in control.

Families who have experienced our in-home arrangement repeatedly tell us it made all the difference. They felt confident, no pressure, and satisfied that they had made the best decisions that were right for them.

Our heritage

Our story begins in Delta, B.C. on August 1, 1992 as Personal Alternative Funeral Services.

At that time, the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley areas of British Columbia certainly did not need another funeral home... but the consumer, certainly did. Back then, there was a rampant influx of large international funeral corporations purchasing local “Mom & Pop” owned funeral homes. This phenomenon was taking place all over North America and continues to this day.

This practice of “gobbling-up” independently owned funeral homes had a serious and immediate adverse effect for the consumer. Prices would literally double & triple overnight and hard-sell tactics employed. These large corporations trade on stock exchanges and are forced to generate exorbitant revenues for their shareholders. As a result, consumers were left with no “alternative” to the high prices.

With 21 years of experience in the funeral industry at the time, I saw an opportunity to make things easier for the consumer. So, I asked myself, “what if I could provide a convenient, affordable and common-sense “alternative” to the expensive typical funeral homes... especially those corporately owned?” With months of thought and planning, I did just that.

Our approach to serving the consumer would be “different” than what the consumer was used to. So, we chose a name that would be “different,” on purpose. ”Personal” because the death of someone close is a “personal” event and we provide a “personal” service; and “Alternative” because we provide a convenient, affordable common-sense “alternative” to the expensive typical funeral home. We would provide everything from a basic cremation to a complete Funeral Service with burial or cremation and do so at significantly lower costs.

On Saturday, August 1, 1992 we opened our first location in Delta, B.C. We offered the consumer real choice. We would go to the family’s home to make the final arrangements, rather than a family having to make that dreaded trip to a funeral home. For Services, we used community facilities such as churches, community centres, golf- course clubhouses, airport hangers, hotels. You name it, we have done a Service there. This allowed us to serve families throughout the entire Greater Vancouver area and Fraser Valley, right in the comfort & convenience of their own home.

In 1994, we purchased property in Langley, B.C. and built a new facility to accommodate our growth. We expanded that facility in 2007. While we have a fully licensed funeral home and crematorium, most families choose a Service in a place other than a funeral home. Since we travel to the family’s home to make the arrangements and use community facilities for services, the actual location of the funeral home becomes far less important.

Clearly our approach was welcomed, as our Alternatives location in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia became the largest independently owned funeral home in Western Canada, in terms of the number of families we are privileged to serve each year. In 2011, we rebranded our name to Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services to reflect the many different people we serve, the changing trends in final arrangements, and the new Service options we have introduced to meet consumer demand for even more personalized events.

Just as our story began, whether you require a simple, dignified cremation without a Service, a Funeral Service with burial or cremation, a Graveside Service, Memorial Service, or a modern Celebration of Life, we will work with you to create a meaningful experience that is right for you, the deceased and your circumstances.

Lawrence G. Little, Founder