MacIsaac Funeral Home

02/16/2026

Amid the grief of losing a loved one, it can be difficult to articulate the impact that person had on your life and…

02/12/2026

The Funeral Mass for the late Helen Stewart will be delayed until 2:pm today.

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02/10/2026

The Turning of the Bones Ritual

In Madagascar, certain ethnic groups practice Famidihana, or ‘the turning of the bones’ ritual. This occurs every 5 to 7 years, where crypts of deceased family members are visited, the bodies are exhumed and families spend the day with their loved one, before they are reclothed and interred back in the family plot. Their skeletal remains are then turned upside down to so that the foot of the grave now becomes the head of the grave.

This practice has at its core, the belief that those who die do not immediately leave this world. The ritual serves these primary purposes: it is a family gathering of sort, where the deceased can reconnect with relatives, it also facilitates the decomposition of the deceased and lastly the deceased is given new garments to wear, replacing old tattered remnants.

The ritual needs to be completed before nightfall, when negative energy and evil powers are present.

How we choose to honour and celebrate the lives of our loved ones varies widely around the world, from our funeral practices here in North America to more elaborate rituals abroad.

© MacIsaac Funeral Home/CFHC Online

02/10/2026

Surrounded by love, Helen Marie (Carty) Stewart of Antigonish passed away after bravely fighting cancer. She was born November 27th, 1950 to Hazen and Mabel (Mills) Carty. Helen lived by her own rules and had many adventures in her younger years, much to the dismay of her parents. At the age of 15,....

02/09/2026

Greg Campbell passed away peacefully at home February 6th, 2026 surrounded by his family. Born in the town of Antigonish, Greg’s family later moved to Harbour Centre, where he developed a deep appreciation for country living. He returned to Antigonish in childhood and eventually settled in Lanark ...

02/07/2026

Marion McCaig passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on February 1, 2026 in Victoria BC. She was 81 years old. Marion was born in Antigonish Nova Scotia to Kathleen (nee Wheten) and Henry Gustavus Bernasconi. She is survived by her sister Shirley Cuthbertson (Wade), her husband Alan and h...

02/06/2026

A Movie about Death, Remembering and Life
Elizabethtown

This flick follows Drew, (Orlando Bloom), a sports shoe designer who is having a very bad week. His new design is a flop and his father has died. Then on a flight to make funeral arrangements ‘to get Dad home’, he meets Claire, (Kirsten Dunst), a talkative somewhat overbearing flight attendant.

When he arrives at Elizabethtown, everyone is very friendly and the small-town charm is very noticeable. This hospitality comes with a cost though; there’s a way funeral goodbyes are supposed to happen in Elizabethtown and what Drew wants to do doesn’t fit into the plan of townsfolk.

This drama, romance comedy lightly portrays key life events: funerals, marriages and new love. It is sprinkled with scenes that touch on many contemporary choices we make. There’s the flip phone conversation, the road trip and an unforgettable eulogy.

Sometimes talking with a total stranger is the best medicine, sometimes that is just what is needed.

This movie’s upbeat portrayal of how a young adult faces the death of a loved one is sure to resonate with many… a good watch if in need of some light entertainment to soothe the soul.

© MacIsaac Funeral Home/CFHC Online

2h 3m | PG-13

02/02/2026

01/30/2026

Obituary of Jacqueline (Jackie) Martell, Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother This obituary was written on my behalf by my children. With a heavy heart, I bid farewell to a life filled with blessings, love, laughter, and cherished moments, in my final years dimmed by a long and a...

01/26/2026

Anna Adams passed away very peacefully on January 22, 2026, a fitting conclusion to what she happily called a quiet and peaceful life. Born the third of seven children to Harold and Irene (Taylor) Baxter on December 21, 1937, Anna grew up on the family farm in Addington Forks. After High School she....

01/26/2026

1976, a Year of Firsts and Starts

It was a busy year in Canada with the CN Tower opening on June 26 in time for Canada Day celebrations. Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty, the Timbit made its debut and Montreal welcomed the world to the Summer Olympics, an unforgettable games that saw 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci receive the first ever perfect gymnastic score. On the international front, the G6 became the G7 with the inclusion of Canada as a member.

In science, space travel witnessed the successful landing of the Viking 1 on Mars and the release of the famous “Face on Mars” photo captured by this space craft; later in the year, Viking 2 would also arrive at our planetary neighbour and take the first close-up colour photographs of the planet’s surface.

Technology was big news in 1976 with the formation of many tech giants that continue to be successful to this day. Apple Computer Company was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak with the first personal computer, the Apple I, available to the hobbyist market. Later that year, little-known company, Microsoft, was officially registered as a company and IBM introduced the first commercial laser printer.

In entertainment, moviegoers flocked to see Redford and Hoffman in “All the President’s Men,” Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky” and Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver.” The most popular tv shows of the year were Happy Days, MASH and Laverne and Shirley. In literature readers flipped the pages of Alex Haley’s “Roots, The Saga of an American Family.” In music, Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” topped the charts.

© MacIsaac Funeral Home/CFHC Online

01/25/2026

It is with broken hearts that we, the family of Kenneth Lee McKenna of Brierly Brook, announce his passing on Thursday, January 22, 2026, in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Antigonish. Born in Antigonish, Kenneth was the son of the late Gerald and Dorothy (Mattie) McKenna. Ken was a loving husband...