Lawrence G. Little, founder of Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services® (the new name for Personal Alternative® Funeral Services), has a distinguished 54-year career in the British Columbia funeral industry.
Lawrence began his apprenticeship in the funeral business in 1971. After completing a two-year apprenticeship and Mortuary College, Lawrence received his Certificate of Apprenticeship and Certificate of Trades Qualification for "Funeral Directing and Embalming" and was issued his license by the Province of B.C.
In 1980, Lawrence began a six-year term as a Director of the British Columbia Funeral Association and served as Chairman of the Professional Education Committee, the Public Education Committee and Chairman of the Management Committee. Little has designed and conducted numerous funeral service training seminars and workshops throughout B.C., as well as international seminars for the International Order of the Golden Rule, an affiliation of funeral homes world wide.
Throughout his career, Lawrence has received several "Service Awards" for his contribution to funeral service and has served on numerous government and legislative Advisory Boards spanning his career.
Early in 1987, Lawrence joined a large independent funeral company as their Regional Manager, overseeing the operation of eight funeral home locations, a crematorium, florist shop and monument company. In 1989, the company was sold to a funeral conglomerate based in the United States.
August 1, 1992, Lawrence established Personal Alternative Funeral Services® to provide consumers throughout the entire Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley with a comfortable, affordable and common-sense alternative to the escalating costs found in traditional funeral homes and Memorial Societies.
In 2009, Lawrence was elected to the Board of Directors of the prestigious International Chicago based Cremation Association of North America and served 3 years as a Director of the Board. British Columbia has the largest cremation rate (nearly 90%) of any jurisdiction in North America.
In 2011, Lawrence rebranded Personal Alternative Funeral Services® to Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services®. Lawrence sold Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services® on its 25th anniversary - August 1, 2017.
