Local funeral director recognized for service excellence

NEWS RELEASE
DIGNITY MEMORIAL
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Local funeral director Taylor Gilmar, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, has been awarded the highest honour from Arthur Funeral Home – Barton & Kiteley Chapel’s parent company, Service Corporation International, which employs about 24,000 associates throughout North America. Taylor received the 2021 Service Excellence Award for her dedication to families and the Sault Ste. Marie community. Known as the 'Pinterest' and 'Martha Stewart' of funeral directors, Taylor creates unique, personalized and memorable tributes to honour a family’s loved one.

Taylor started her career in the funeral industry as a 16-year-old co-op student with no previous experience in the industry. But 12 years later, she’s become one of Sault Ste. Marie’s Arthur Funeral Home – Barton & Kiteley Chapel’s most caring and creative funeral directors.

“She became our Cinderella as she transformed from a very young naïve high school student to the professional funeral director she is today,” said Debbie Jo Linklater, Funeral Director and peer at Arthur Funeral Home. “Taylor has never stopped learning and challenging herself to be better. She appreciates and uses the experience and knowledge she has gained from her co-workers to apply to her own role. In any company initiative, Taylor takes it and runs with it.”

Passionate about customizing memorial services to celebrate each unique life, Taylor always provides each family with an unforgettable experience. One example of her dedication was when a family came to pick up an urn with the cremated remains of a loving husband and father. His widow had mentioned that her husband loved the listen to her play the organ. Taylor surprised the family by setting up an organ in the center of the room. With the urn on display and a railway train flashing in the background, (her husband worked for the railroad) Taylor invited the widow to play one last time for him. The beautiful music filled the funeral home as she played for almost an hour as their daughter listened in tears.

Taylor’s passion to serve families in the most unique ways is why she was awarded the 2021 Service Excellence Award out of 1,200 nominations across North America. The program, created in 2007, recognizes and honours SCI and Dignity Memorial associates across the country for exceeding expectations through exemplary service toward others and fostering the company’s culture of service excellence.

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