Alderwoods Group, formally The Alderwoods Group, Inc., was a provider of funeral, cremation

Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

, and cemetery services in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 with operations in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. Its executive office is in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, and it has administrative offices in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, and Burnaby, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

As of June 17, 2006, Alderwoods had 579 funeral homes, 72 cemeteries and 61 combination funeral homes and cemeteries in 36 states, seven Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico. The company's locations include Rose Hills Memorial Park

Rose Hills Memorial Park

Rose Hills Memorial Park is the largest cemetery in the United States and is located in Whittier, California. It is owned and operated by Service Corporation International .-Mausoleums and Chapels:...

, considered to be the largest memorial park in the world.

The Alderwoods Group formed after the Loewen Group emerged from bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 on January 2, 2002. In November 2006, Alderwoods was acquired by Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International

For other uses of the acronym SCI, see SCIService Corporation International is North America’s largest provider of end-of-life arrangements and services. With its headquarters in Neartown, Houston, Texas, United States, SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries in 43 states,...

 in a US$1.2 billion deal reached in April of the same year.