Memorable Manitobans: Neil Ofeigur Bardal (1940-2010)

Funeral home owner, community activist.

Born at Winnipeg on 16 February 1940, he joined the family business, becoming a third-generation director for the Bardal Funeral Home on Sherbrook Street. In 1980, he sold his controlling interest in the business and opened Neil Bardal Inc. He purchased Brooklawn Crematorium two years later. In 2008 his new Funeral Home and Garden of Memories opened on Notre Dame Avenue. He served as Registrar for the provincial Board of Administration under the Embalmer’s and Funeral Director’s Act from 1979 to his retirement in 2009. His wish for a provincial school was the drive behind the creation of the Western School of Funeral Service in 1980.

He served as President of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg and board member of Cycle On Life for the Riverview Health Centre Foundation. He was a proud Icelander whose dedication was recognized by the Government of Iceland with the investiture of the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Falcon in 2000, and by the Province of Manitoba by becoming a recipient of the Order of Manitoba in 2006. He received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). A scholarship in his name was created by the IODE in 2008.

He died of cancer at Winnipeg on 13 February 2010. He is commemorated by Neil Bardal Memorial Park in Winnipeg.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 February 2010.

We thank Janice Clarke for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Paul Armstrong and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 August 2024

Memorable Manitobans

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.

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