This two-storey Queen Anne-style building on Eveline Street in Selkirk was built before 1890 for businessman Edwin Comber. It was constructed of brick on a wooden frame with a truncated pyramidal roof. Note the variety of windows: bay, Palladian, and leaded glass. Although it was subsequently altered to suit its present use, it retains the original woodwork and staircase inside.
Comber lost the house due to bad investments. It was used as a private residence until 1935, when it was occupied by the Gilbart Funeral Home, named for founder J. Maurice Gilbart (1896-1944). An attached chapel was built in 1958 and, in 1970, property on the south side was purchased for use as a parking lot. The upper floor of the house was turned in storage space. A 200-person reception hall was built at the back of the building in 2017.
Subsequent proprietors of the business have included William F. Langrill (1908-1954) and James Roy Wesley Gilbart (1929-2021, son of the founder). It is presently operated by the fourth generation of the Gilbart family.
The former Comber House, now the Gilbart Funeral Home (July 2016)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Comber House, now the Gilbart Funeral Home (June 2020)
Source: Oksana PreachukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.14010, W96.87416
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Edwin Comber (1847-1925)
Historical Tour: Selkirk, Manitoba by Wendy G. Smulan
Manitoba History, Number 34, Autumn 1997
“50th anniversary of founding, 1935-1985,” Selkirk Journal, 5 June 1985, page 5.
About Us, Gilbart Funeral Home.
Obituary [James Roy Wesley Gilbart], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 July 2021.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Roy Gilbart and Oksana Preachuk and Jaydi Overwater (City of Selkirk, Culture Recreation & Green Transportation Department) for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Connor Macfarlane and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 July 2021
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