Sydney Memorial Chapel

Sydney Memorial Chapel Providing funeral services to residents of Sydney and surrounding communities since 1974. Our contemporary facilities include a chapel and visitation rooms.

Sydney Memorial Chapel is a locally owned funeral home providing services to Sydney and surrounding communities. Dedicated to providing personalized service and choice, we support families with a wide variety of options as they make decisions following the loss of a loved one. Whether you wish a traditional funeral service, a memorial service or cremation services, we offer options to meet your needs. A reception room and kitchen are also on-site to host gatherings following a service. Catering is available. Our facility provides state of the art audiovisual equipment. For families choosing cremation we offer these services at our crematorium which is located in Whitney Pier. Our compassionate and detail oriented directors and support staff have assisted countless families over the years. Our involvement within the community spans decades. We understand that you value working with individuals and organizations who share in promoting local interests. We are available 24/7 to support you in your time of need.

Our 50th AnniversaryOn November 15, 1975, Sydney Memorial Chapel opened its doors and began providing funeral services t...
11/15/2025

Our 50th Anniversary

On November 15, 1975, Sydney Memorial Chapel opened its doors and began providing funeral services to Sydney and surrounding communities. Today marks 50 years of service and we are incredibly pleased that we have been able to achieve this monumental milestone!

Over the years countless people have shared a journey with us and have made contributions at our funeral home. In addition to our management team, numerous funeral directors have supported families as they honour and pay tribute to loved ones, administration personnel have processed and managed the many paper trails that are necessary to ensure legalities are tended to, part-time and casual employees have assisted and supported where necessary, and community partners have helped us in many capacities.

The old saying is, “It takes a village,” and this rings true in every sense of the word with our journey at Sydney Memorial Chapel.

Wayne and I, (Kollin) thank everyone who has helped us along the way, ensuring that the services we provide are based on compassionate care and adhere to the highest of professional standards. Lastly, thank you… to you the community we serve, for your trust and support over the years. You have made this possible and we are forever grateful.

Kollin Weatherbee
Managing Funeral Director and Owner

11/13/2025

View Shawn Kenneth Finney's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

What is Disenfranchised Grief? Disenfranchised grief is type of grief which involves a loss that is not deemed worthy of...
11/13/2025

What is Disenfranchised Grief?

Disenfranchised grief is type of grief which involves a loss that is not deemed worthy of a grief response. It is one of the least talked about types of grief and is generally viewed by society as not deserving of any attention.

There are many examples of disenfranchised grief, all of which have an impact on the griever contrary to what onlookers think they know. These include: the death of an absent family member, the loss of a friend, the loss of an ex, the loss of a pet, the loss of a same-sex partner, a miscarriage or an abortion.

Those who experience these types of loss may have significant challenges as they navigate their grief journey, all the while, their family and friends fail to acknowledge or understand the emotions that are being felt. These responses dismiss the relationship and the person’s feelings of sadness and sorrow.

When Nancy first read of her ex-husband’s death in the newspaper, she was totally unprepared for the feelings of sadness, pain, confusion and loneliness that would plague her. Despite since being happily remarried for the last twenty-five years, she still found this news left her numb. Her friends and her logic told her these emotions were crazy and not rational, and she should just get over it. Nancy chose to do the same as what many experiencing unacknowledged grief do. She withdrew from conversations and decided not to share her true feelings. She wondered if people were right and pondered if her sadness was weird.

When disenfranchised grief is experienced it can result in behavioral changes for the griever, including withdrawal, change in eating habits, fatigue, irregular sleep patterns and self-medication. Buried emotions do not lead to better emotions.

It is important that as a society, we recognize when a family member or friend is experiencing grief, regardless of the circumstance. Grief is a response to a relationship that was shared and the amount of closeness, companionship and joy that was part of that relationship. The validity of this relationship should never be undervalued. By doing so, a disservice is being done by the griever.

Bertha Brannen
Bereavement Group Leader

© Sydney Memorial Chapel/CFHC Online

11/12/2025

View Annie "Anne" Elizabeth Bonnell's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

Remembrance Day ObservanceA moment of silence, a time to reflect and remember the sacrifice made by so many. Today we pa...
11/11/2025

Remembrance Day Observance

A moment of silence, a time to reflect and remember the sacrifice made by so many. Today we pay tribute to the countless members of our armed forces who have died in conflicts, both past and present, around our world. The freedoms we have come to expect are a result of your service and courage. You shall not grow old; you shall not have the time we all too often take for granted.

Today we pray for your families, who are also affected by your loss. We hope that they find personal peace and that they are able to heal from the loss of losing a loved one.

A moment of silence on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month… a small way to honour and pay tribute to those who gave so much.

Let Our Family be of Service to Your Family The Weatherbee Commitment to Sydney Sydney Memorial Chapel, (SMC) has been l...
11/09/2025

Let Our Family be of Service to Your Family
The Weatherbee Commitment to Sydney

Sydney Memorial Chapel, (SMC) has been locally owned and managed since inception.

Wayne Weatherbee founded the funeral home in 1975 creating the first non-denominational funeral home in the area. He formed many relationships at that time, within the community and built a funeral chapel that continues to operate to this day. In 1986, Wayne introduced cremations services as an option for local families, opening Cape Breton Crematorium, the first crematorium east of Halifax in NS.

Wayne’s brother and my (Kollin) father, John has also held many roles at our funeral home which have contributed to the establishment of Sydney Memorial Chapel as a trusted provider of funeral services to our community. John, always willing and ready to give his brother a hand was SMC’s first employee. As a funeral assistant, he supported in many ways on a casual basis when needed. He eventually became a licensed director himself and the managing director at our funeral home for a number of years. His service at SMC continues to this day.

The third member of our Weatherbee family to have an intricate role at Sydney Memorial Chapel is myself, Kollin. I’ve been supporting local families for more than 25 years in many roles. Initially I was an assistant, and then a funeral director, followed by the positions of managing director and then owner. My focus has been to continue the levels of service provided by both my uncle and father, while at the same time, adding modern technologies to our service offering. Video tributes, live streaming, our online presence and social media are some of the present-day technologies I’ve introduced. During my time as owner, I’ve also initiated a number of renovation projects to our funeral home to offer a more contemporary facility to families we serve.

Throughout the years our Weatherbee family has anchored our service offering in a number of guiding principles; attention to details, the professional and timely delivery of services and compassionate care have all been vital to our legacy as a community partner.

We strive each and every day to ensure that at the end of the day we can know we’ve done what we can to meet the needs of each family we serve. Peace of mind is a term we hear a lot in this profession. By helping others feel they have honoured and paid tribute to a loved one, we achieve our own peace of mind in a knowing we’ve done our best.

Kollin Weatherbee
Managing Funeral Director and Owner

Inset First Photo: Wayne, John and Kollin Weatherbee

11/09/2025

View Elsie MacLeod's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

11/08/2025

Celebration Of Life for Louise MacGregor & Cheryl Ferguson

Timely Reminder: It is Never Too Late or Too Early to Make a WillNational Wills Month is celebrated every November in Ca...
11/07/2025

Timely Reminder: It is Never Too Late or Too Early to Make a Will

National Wills Month is celebrated every November in Canada, making it the perfect time to contemplate writing a will if you haven’t done so already. Wills not only provide peace of mind, knowing your family and the causes you care about are supported after your death, they also save loved ones undue hardship and stress.

No one enjoys talking or thinking about death, but not having a will creates confusion and uncertainty. A will allows you to appoint the executor of your estate, while also naming who inherits your possessions and/or becomes guardians of your children. Without a will, the government makes these decisions for you, but only after a lengthy probate process, leading to unnecessary delays and sometimes, even worse, family animosity.

Here at the funeral home, we do not deal directly with wills as the document is usually unsealed only after the funeral. However, having a will helps us determine who is allowed to make funeral arrangements on your behalf. It ensures the funeral director is dealing with the right person – your executor or next of kin with authorization – resulting in a smoother funeral process and allowing loved ones to focus on their grief instead of all the paperwork.

© Sydney Memorial Chapel/CFHC Online

11/05/2025

View Sarah Dolena MacMillan's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

11/05/2025

View Mary Margaret MacNeil's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

11/05/2025

View Colleen Marie (McGrath) MacIntyre's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

Address

49 Welton Street
Sydney, NS
B1P5R3

Telephone

+19025390500

Website

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