Undertaker.
Born on a farm at Svartarkot, Bardardalur in northern Iceland on 22 April 1866, son of Sigurgeir Palsson of Grimstadur and Vigdis Halldorsdottir of Bjarnstadur, brother-in-law of Runolfur Marteinsson, he emigrated to Canada in 1886, settling in Manitoba and working on a construction gang for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He bought a team of horses and operated a wood and coal transport business and later taxicab and ambulance services. He sold his business in 1894 and began a funeral business which operates today. He was an investor in the Brookeville Granite Quarry.
He was married twice, first on 5 November 1893 to Sesselja Thorgeirsdottir (1876-1899) with whom he had two children: Adalbjorg Bardal (1894-1971) and Emilia Bardal (1896-1898). On 5 June 1900, he married Margret Ingibjorg Olafsdottir (1880-1960) and they had fourteen children: Karl Arinbjorn Bardal (1901-1901), Emilia Sezalya Bardal (1902-1966, wife of M. P. Sullivan), Njall Ofeigur Bardal (1903-1903), Njall Ofeigur Bardal (1904-1977), Svava Bardal (1906-1989, wife of L. S. Farrell and J. A. Kerr), Karl Luther Bardal (1909-1982), Osk Bardal (1910-1978, wife of S. Davis), Signy Bardal (1912-1986, wife of C. Ryder), Helga Vigdis Bardal (1914-1994, wife of W. C. Byers), Arinbjorn Gerrard Bardal (1916-1973), Margret Stefania Bardal (1917-1997), Paul Stanley Bardal (1919-1921), Agnes Bardal (1921-2021, wife of Hugh Comack), and Paul Sigurgeir Bardal (1925-1991). The family's first home was at 676 McDermot Avenue but, in 1921, they moved to a large home on Hawthorne Avenue on the Red River in North Kildonan, living there until moving in an apartment above the Bardal Funeral Home during the Second World War. In 1904, he built a summer cottage at Gimli. He enjoyed lawn bowling, curling, fishing, and hunting.
Active in the community, he was a representative for Canada in the International Order of Good Templars, President of First Lutheran Church (1919-1921), and Manitoba Grand Master of the Odd Fellows (1908). He served as a councillor for the Rural Municipality of North Kildonan (1926-1942) and was President of the Manitoba Funeral Directors Association for three years.
He died at the Winnipeg General Hospital on 13 November 1951 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bardal Block (843 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brookeville Granite Quarry (East Braintree, RM of Reynolds)
Marriage registration [Arnibjorn Bardal, Sizelije Porgiersdottir], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registration [Sesselja Bardal], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [Adelbjorg Bardal, Karl Arinbjorn Bardal, Emilia Sezalya Bardal, Njall Bardal, Njall Ofeigur Bardal, Svava Bardal, Karl Luther Bardal, Osk Bardal, Signy Bardal, Helga Vigdis Bardal, Margret Stefania Bardal, Paul Stanley Bardal, Agnes Bardal], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Arinbjorn S Bardal, Margret Ingibjorg Olafsdottir], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Dr. and Mrs. R. Marteinsson,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 July 1950, page 16.
“Early settler, A. S. Bardal, dies at 85,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 November 1951. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10]
Death registration [Karl Luther Bardal], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Njall Ofeigur Bardal], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 September 1977, page 156.
Obituary [Paul Sigurgeir Bardal], Winnipeg Free Press, 17 September 1991, page 31.
Brookside Cemetery: A Celebration of Life, Volume 1, published by E. R. Publishing & Communications Ltd., Winnipeg, 2003, ISBN 0-973346-0-5 (paper).
We thank Agnes Bardal Comack and Elizabeth Comack for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 December 2024
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
