Bruce MacArthur
Owner, Funeral Director and Embalmer

After 28 years with Red Deer Transit as a bus driver and in administration, Bruce decided it was time for a career change. He had felt called to the funeral service and decided it was time to act on that instinct. "As a mature student, it was not easy going back to school," he says. "However, I enrolled in the Western School of Funeral Service (now the Canadian College of Funeral service) and apprenticed with several Central Alberta funeral firms. After receiving my Funeral Director and Embalmer certificates, I worked in both the private- and corporate-owned funeral environments." Over time, Bruce developed a vision for a different type of funeral provider. In 2011, he left the mainstream funeral service and, along with his wife Norreen, started Meaningful Memorials Funeral Service. "Now we can serve families using a business model that we feel is needed by many," he says. In his spare time, Bruce enjoys travelling (especially by train), visiting other countries, seeing and learning about other cultures, dining on a nice meal or good barbecue, and spending time with small dogs. Together he and Norreen share in the task of helping families in their time of need.

Norreen MacArthur
Owner and Funeral Assistant

Prior to helping her husband Bruce in the funeral service, Norreen enjoyed a range of careers. She worked for 12 years on various cruise ships, was a consultant in the health-food industry, and, for a short period, was a contracted librarian with the Alberta government. "Though in the beginning I was not keen about my husband wanting to change his career and enter funeral service, I soon found myself enjoying helping him occasionally on funeral services with the various funeral firms he was with," she says. "Now retired, I am able to help my husband where needed, be it setting up and assisting on a funeral service, helping to prepare for a viewing, or keeping the meeting area of the business clean and tidy." In her spare time, Norreen enjoys marking cards, scrapbooking, knitting, crafts, and travel. She and Bruce have a daughter, Lucinda, who lives in Edmonton.

Evan King
Apprentice Funeral Director

Evan’s initial role was to be an office assistant; answering calls, sending emails, fixing the computers Bruce “didn’t break”, and otherwise helping to organize the office. As time went on and he started taking on more varied duties around the office, he also started to help on funeral days and transfers, and began meeting with families to help accomplish the less official matters. This acceptance of extra responsibilities, and enthusiasm towards helping families, lead to his current place in the funeral home today; enrolled in his first year at the Canadian College of Funeral Service, and studiously working towards his funeral director’s license. In his spare time between the funeral home and college studies, Evan feeds his fascination of old analog tech by regularly using and restoring film cameras, tape audio equipment, and radio tube tv sets. He also has a love for music and computers, having played the guitar since high school, and built his own personal and project computers.

Devan Dufresne
Transfers and Administrative Assistant