Memorable Manitobans: Nathan Simon “Nat” Bubbis (1912-1965)

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Nathan Simon Bubbis
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Engineer.

Born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1912, son of Philip Bubbis (1888-1924) and Rose Bubbis (1889-1939), his family moved to Winnipeg in 1920. Educated locally, he received a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1934. He joined the engineering staff of the City of Winnipeg later that year and, in 1944, was put in charge of waterworks and sewage treatment. He was appointed General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Greater Winnipeg Water District in 1949. On the formation of Metro in 1960, he became Director of the Water and Waste Disposal Division.

He served as President of the Association of Professional Engineers of Manitoba (1957) and was a member of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Engineering Confederation Commission, Water Pollution Control Federation, Western Canada Water and Sewage Council, and American Waterworks Association. He was a recipient of the Lindsten Memorial Award for promoting water and sewerage activities.

On 26 December 1943, he married Edith Alpert (1908-2006, daughter of Zalman Alpert) at Winnipeg and they had a daughter, Roslyn Bubbis (?-?). Active in the Jewish community, he was President of the Chaim Weizmann Club and President of the brotherhood of the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.

He died suddenly at the St. Boniface Hospital on 23 February 1965 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. The Nathan Bubbis Memorial Fund at the University of Manitoba was established in his name.

Sources:

Birth registration [Edith Alpert], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Death registrations [Philip Bubbis, Rose Bubbis], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Death follows fall on street,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 September 1924, page 3.

“Bubbis - Alpert,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 December 1943, page 6.

“Water engineer, general manager await approval,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 December 1949, page 3.

“Nat Bubbis dies after heart attack,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 February 1965, page 17.

“Metro director dies, 52,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 1965, page 3.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 27 February 1965, page 33.

Tribute to the late Nathan S. Bubbis, P.Eng.” by W. L. Wardrop, The Manitoba Professional Engineer, June 1965, page 5.

Obituary [Edith Bubbis], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 September 2006.

We thank Nathan Kramer, James Kostuchuk, and Joseph Friedberg for providing additional information used here.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 January 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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