For people wishing to pay their respects to the family of Marlene Juttens-Benoit, funeral arrangements and visitation details have been announced.
Juttens-Benoit, a member of the Chatham and then Chatham-Kent Fire Department (CKFD) for 16 years, lost her life in a single-vehicle accident Sunday.
Visitation is July 25 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at McKinlay Funeral Home on St. Clair Street in Chatham.
Members of the CKFD will stage a firefighter walkthrough at about 8 p.m.
The funeral takes place at the funeral home at 11 a.m. July 26.
Ric Scharf, Chatham-Kent’s assistant fire chief, said a firefighter walkthrough is a way for a large number of firefighters to pay their respects to the family without bogging down the visitation.
“It’s really a favour to the family as it allows the department – usually 20 or more firefighters – to assemble at the funeral home and bypass the family members, walk straight up to the coffin, two at a time and pay our respects,” he said. “This allows us to have a time set where we can walk through as a group and not take up a lot of the family’s time. It’s a quick way to show our respect to the family and give a last farewell to the person we’re there to see.”
