Our Staff

Ryan Crean

CEO

Ryan Crean is the CEO of Kearney Funeral Services and RSR Family Holdings, leading a family-owned funeral care company with more than a century of history and four generations of family service across British Columbia.

Ryan’s path into the business was both inherited and chosen. He grew up around the family firm and worked in it from a young age. When his mother passed away he returned to the business to complete his apprenticeship and support his family. An experience that gave him something few in his profession have: a personal understanding of what it means to sit on the family’s side of the arrangement table. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Simon Fraser University, drawn by a lifelong passion for science and a first-principles way of solving problems. When the company later faced succession, Ryan recognized how much the mission mattered and came back to lead Kearney’s.

Under his leadership, Kearney’s has grown from three locations to six, completed a merger with Burquitlam, and brought several funeral businesses together under RSR Family Holdings all while transitioning the firm to its next generation and building a leadership team defined by care and shared purpose.

Ryan is building a deliberate alternative to corporate-run funeral service. As a generation of independent owners retires, he wants Kearney’s to be the company they would choose to carry their legacy forward: Canadian-owned, flat, transparent, and guided by values the company genuinely lives. His ambition is for Kearney’s to be the premier independent funeral care provider in Western Canada.

Ryan lives in Squamish, British Columbia, with his wife Jen and their two children. He is an avid reader and spends his time outdoors ski touring, mountain biking, and exploring the mountains he calls home.

Raina Bennefield

Location Manager/Funeral Director/Embalmer

Colin Benesch

Funeral Director

John Smith

Funeral Director/Embalmer

John joined the Affordable Cremation & West Shore Crematorium team in 2022 as a Cremationist and Embalmer.

We are proud that as of 2023 John will now serve families as a Funeral Director.

He gained his Funeral Director and Embalmer licenses from the Canadian College of Funeral Service.

Tavia Agnew

Funeral Director/Embalmer

Sarah Daigle

Funeral Director/Embalmer Apprentice

Brenda Freed

Funeral Director Apprentice

Christoph Piel

Lead Cremationist

Christoph joined the West Shore Crematorium team in 2019 and has now developed years of experience to better serve families.

Taylor Nygaard

Crematorium Operator

Amy Dureau

Cremationist Administrator

Amy joined the West Shore Crematorium team in 2024.

Ryan Crean

CEO

Raina Bennefield

Location Manager/Funeral Director/Embalmer

Colin Benesch

Funeral Director

John Smith

Funeral Director/Embalmer

John joined the Affordable Cremation & West Shore Crematorium team in 2022 as a Cremationist and Embalmer.

We are proud that as of 2023 John will now serve families as a Funeral Director.

He gained his Funeral Director and Embalmer licenses from the Canadian College of Funeral Service.

Tavia Agnew

Funeral Director/Embalmer

Sarah Daigle

Funeral Director/Embalmer Apprentice

Brenda Freed

Funeral Director Assistant & Administrator

Christoph Piel

Lead Cremationist

Christoph joined the West Shore Crematorium team in 2019 and has now developed years of experience to better serve families.

Taylor Nygaard

Crematorium Operator

Amy Dureau

Cremationist Administrator

Amy joined the West Shore Crematorium team in 2024.