Our Experienced Staff

Owner & Funeral Director

In 1997 Teresa started her career in funeral service in Brandon, Manitoba at Brockie Donovan Funeral Home, where she received her licence as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. In 2002, Teresa moved to Calgary and worked for Leyden's Funeral Home for three years, then at Commemorative Services (Evan J. Strong Funeral Services) for eight years. Over this time period, she had the privilege of meeting and working hand in hand with hundreds of families, and helping them plan meaningful ceremonies to both mourn and celebrate the life of a loved one. Over her many years in funeral service, Teresa has had the opportunity to work with many Priests and Pastors in numerous churches throughout the city, becoming well aware of the different cultures, beliefs and customs that make Calgary so unique. Teresa opened Choice Memorial in 2014 to give Calgary and area families a lower cost and higher service option for funeral services. Teresa is passionate about the profession, and loves serving families, allowing them to have dignified and respectful services without having to re-mortgage the house. Her guiding principle and the foundation for serving families is simple - funerals are a place to pay your respects, not your life savings.

Apart from funeral service what does she love? Golfing, skiing, the Calgary Flames, and most of all - being a mom to Lakeisha and Jayda - two out of this world, awesome daughters, and being a Nana to Beau and Bexley - the most adorable grandchildren in the world!

Parry Roy

Human Resources & Operations Manager

Parry was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and later pursued his education in Toronto, Ontario. With a background in human resources and project management, Parry has a passion for collaborating with colleagues, individuals, and families.

Outside of work, Parry is happily married and has a deep love for all animals. Nature holds a special place in his heart, and he enjoys spending his free time outdoors.

Known for his soft-spoken nature, Parry strives to be considerate and friendly in all interactions, valuing meaningful connections with others.

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Joining the Choice team in January 2020, Mike began his funeral career in Calgary with McInnis & Holloway in 1997, graduating in 2000 from the Western School of Funeral Service as a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. Shortly after, he and his family moved to Olds, Alberta where Mike spent the next 18 years serving the families in Olds, Didsbury, Three Hills, Sundre, and surrounding areas. Mike has three adult children living in Central Alberta. Mike is an avid reader, enjoys landscape and nature photography, hiking in the western foothills, and doing a little rock hounding. Mike looks forward to continuing his passion for the funeral profession with Choice Memorial and serving families in the Calgary area.

Funeral Director / Office Administrator / Graphics

It was impossible to conceive how a phone call on behalf of a friend needing funeral services in January 2015 with Teresa, would change the trajectory of the rest of Lisa’s life. The conversation moved from cremation to bookkeeping and very soon Lisa began taking care of the bookkeeping needs of this brand-new company with big dreams.  Bookkeeping morphed into administrative and graphics employment two years later and once again shifted in 2023 when Lisa graduated from the two-year program at Canadian College of Funeral Services. She has grown and changed as the company grew and expanded from zero employees into a large team of amazing colleagues, happily referred to as her “work family”. 

In Choice Memorial she found not only the most soul filling work of her life helping families in need, but also unexpectedly her soulmate in a co-worker. Lisa still handles bookkeeping clients on the side and in her free time loves to socialize, lives for hiking opportunities in the mountains with Mike, collecting rocks, camping and kayaking. She hopes to add extensive travel to this list in the future and explore the world’s most beautiful places.  Lisa has two adult sons in university and college, Ryan and Colin, of whom she is exceedingly proud. Being their mother has been one of her life’s greatest joys.  Now she patiently waits for graduations, weddings and grandchildren in their next chapters.

Lori Davie

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Lori has worked in funeral homes since 1988 and earned her license in 1991.

She is passionate about helping others, and has been serving families at our Rockyview Chapel located on the beautiful grounds of the Rocky View Garden of Peace Cemetery.

Alex Trattner

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Alex is a born and raised Calgarian! He graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor’s in History. Prior to joining the funeral profession, Alex worked in Emergency Medical Services throughout Alberta and Northern British Columbia.

His passion to serve people in their time of need led him to complete his Funeral Director and Embalming Diplomas through Mount Royal University.

Alex is very soft hearted and compassionate. He strives to create the most meaningful memories for the families he serves and is dedicated to their needs.

Tonya Mack

Funeral Director & Apprentice Embalmer

Tonya joined Choice Memorial in March of 2021. She is enrolled in the Funeral Services Program at Mount Royal University. After experiencing a loss of her own in 2016 and being responsible for making the final arrangements, Tonya realized this was a career path she was interested in pursuing. Previously in retail management, her love for helping people was an easy transition into the funeral profession. 

With a passion for taking care of others during difficult times, Tonya considers it an honour to serve. Her gentle, compassionate, and friendly demeanor makes her approachable and instantly puts families at ease.  Aside from helping families, Tonya enjoys spending time with her collection of exotic pets, gardening, and outdoor sporting activities. 

Chelsea Van Damme

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Chelsea was born and raised in Manitoba. Graduating from Morden Collegiate in 2018, she also completed the Culinary Arts program at the Northlands Parkway Collegiate in Winkler.
 
Chelsea joined Choice Memorial in June of 2021 as an apprentice funeral director. Chelsea worked as a health care aide in a care home and also did home care prior to working at Choice Memorial. Her caring nature and desire to help others prove to be assets to the families she serves. She received her Funeral Director Licence in October of 2023 and is working to obtain her Embalmer's Licence.
 
Chelsea loves to cook and try out new recipes. She is an animal lover and misses her pets back home, especially her cat Baby. She loves going out on day trips, especially exploring the outdoors.
 
Chelsea looks forward to seeing her family back in Manitoba and spending time with her niece Marina.

Laura Kok

Apprentice Funeral Director

Laura Kok joined Choice Memorial in March of 2023. She is currently enrolled in Mount Royal University's Funeral Directing Certificate program. Born and raised in Calgary with her three sisters, she is passionate about serving those in her community as if they were her own family.

After graduating high school in 2020, Laura initially studied political science at the University of Calgary. However, after two years, she realized her desire to serve and her empathetic heart were best suited for funeral services, and she enrolled at Mount Royal.

In her spare time, Laura enjoys volunteering in the community, knitting, and spending time with her beloved cat Yovel.

Doug Hebert

Funeral Director Assistant / Crematorium Operator

Doug comes to Choice Memorial from Ontario, and is a Matthew's Certified Crematorium Operator/ Transfer Person/FDA.

New to our Choice Family and Alberta, Doug is no newcomer to the Funeral Industry. Having served as an FDA/Transfer Person for two years in Ontario, Doug found his passion for helping families in their time of need. 

After graduating from High School, Doug continued furthering his education in such courses as welding, machine shop, quality control, motorcycle repair, gas fitter (G2) and now certified as a Crematorium Operator. 

Doug followed his heart West to Alberta as his two children and grandchildren already reside here.

Outside of work Doug enjoys riding motorcycle, nature walks, campfires, movies (Favorite movie is Tombstone) or shooting pool.

Oleksandr Sharoiko

Funeral Attendant

Oleksandr was born and raised in Ukraine in the city of Uzhgorod. Due to difficult family circumstances, from 13 to 16 years old, he practically lived on the street. At the age of 17, he was studying to be a carpenter, but he could not finish his studies because he had to choose between work and study. He had a passion for music and played the drums and piano at his church.

At the age of 28, Oleksandr moved to Slovakia and worked for some time in the field of Funeral Service. He performed a variety of functions including communicating with families, preparing funerals, and transporting the deceased from all over Europe. Due to the war in Ukraine, in May of 2023 Oleksandr moved to Canada, to the city of Calgary. Since July 2023, Oleksandr has joined the Choice Memorial team and we are happy to have him and his enthusiasm to serve here with us.

Office Administrator / Graphics

Karen entered the funeral industry in September 2013, after more than 20 years in office administration and collections. Her time in administration makes her efficient and organized, traits that are welcome in our industry. The funeral industry awakened a desire to help families, be compassionate and have that personal interaction.

We are so blessed that Karen joined the Choice Memorial family in October 2018. She looks after administrative tasks and graphics for families who have stationery designed for them at Choice. She works closely with our families in order to ensure that they are receiving something that represents their loved one accurately.

Karen is married and has four children and six stepchildren. Karen and her husband enjoy spending time with their kids and the 25 grandbabies that they currently love on. When she has a minute of free time, Karen is also an avid scrapbooker and reader.

Office Administrator

Therese joined Choice Memorial in October of 2019. Therese has an HR background and was in Oil and Gas for the last 9 years. She was looking for an industry career change with meaningful work and immediately fell in love with Choice and their mission.

Therese is a busy mom with 4 children, 3 cats, 1 bird and 1 bearded dragon. She is also an Professional Strongwoman athlete and Canada's 2023 Strongest Lightweight Woman.

Nikita Machula

Office Administrator / Graphics

Nikita has been working in funeral services since the summer of 2017 and received her license in 2018 after graduating from Mount Royal University. Having joined Choice Memorial in the fall of 2022, she can often be found behind the scenes in the office or working from home. After getting married in 2019 and having her first child in 2020, Nikita took some time off to pursue Graphic Design and graduated from the Visual College of Art and Design at the end of 2022.

When not working in funeral, graphic design, or with her children, Nikita enjoys all things artistic, but most especially being in the kitchen cooking or baking. Having health issues in her family, her most recent endeavor has been to learn to master gluten-free cooking and baking.

Peter Joosten

Funeral Attendant

Peter is a retired City of Calgary employee and has been married for 45 years. He has 3 adult children and 2 grandsons. After retiring from the City of Calgary, and prior to working at Choice Memorial, he worked for a company that provided vehicle relocation services in Alberta.

Norm Doerksen

Funeral Attendant

Norm is a native Albertan and has spent 44 years in the workplace in several customer related occupations. Both entailed dealing with grief and loss of loved family members. Working with Choice gives him the opportunity to treat others as he would like to be treated, an important part of his service.

In his spare time, when there is some, he enjoys spending time with family, the great outdoors and travel. 

Jennifer Churcher

Hostess / Owner of Jenn's Creations

Jennifer joined Choice Memorial after retiring from careers in Supply Chain Management and teaching. She moved to Calgary from Fort McMurray in 2006. Jennifer loves working with people and has a passion for caring for others, all while serving in various ministries at Richmond Hill Baptist Church.

Jennifer has been married to her husband John for 37 years, and has two children, a son and daughter, and two granddaughters. She loves going for walks and traveling to far away destinations.

Jennifer is also the owner of a business called "Jenn's Creations" where she custom makes memory bears for people who have lost a loved one and wish to have a keepsake to remember them by.

Gerri Ashby

Administrator / Certified Celebrant

Gerri has been involved with Choice Memorial since its inception, but only recently has come to work part-time at the Rocky View location.

Gerri has worked in the Oil and Gas industry for over 25 years. As well, her and her husband Jack, married 31 years, worked together helping over 300 engaged couples plan and celebrate their wedding ceremony. After experiencing the loss of Jack in Jan 2023 and being responsible for making the Celebration of Life arrangements, Gerri realized that it is important to tell a loved one’s story. Gerri completed the Celebrant Course in April and is available to assist families in having their loved one’s story told at any kind of service or Celebration of Life.

In her off-time Gerri is busy walking, golfing, cooking and has 3 grown children, 3 step-children, and a combined total of 12 grandchildren.

Jack Ashby 1946-2023

Planning Consultant / Pastoral Services

Jack brings many years experience in the funeral industry and years of experience in working with families and seniors. His work experience is diversified in many areas including marketing, networking and connecting people with services that best meet their needs.

Jack is a volunteer chaplain with the Calgary Police Service.

He and his wife Gerri have been married for 25 plus years, have six grown children and twelve grandchildren. In their spare time, Jack and Gerri help others plan and celebrate life's big events - from birthdays, to weddings, to baptisms to wedding vow renewals. Their website can be found at www.weddingsbyjackandgerri.com.

On January 10, 2023 Jack Ashby passed away.   Jack was instrumental in creating and maintaining many relationships between Choice Memorial and the church community.  He was a huge supporter of Choice, and was our greatest ambassador. 

You are missed my friend.  Thank you for all of your support and friendship over the years.  May you rest in peace. 

Until we meet again,

Teresa Jones

Funeral Directors in Training

Beau and Bexley are not currently full-time staff members and have zero experience in funeral service, however they are quite possibly the cutest little people this world has ever seen. Having no luck convincing my daughters Lakeisha and Jayda to follow in their mama's footsteps - I will start working on my little grandson and granddaughter to join this cherished profession one day.