Finding Bertie Gillmor

Bertie (Herbert Charles Gillmor 1893-1960) was my Grandmother’s brother, born at Boihy House near Manorhamilton. He emigrated to Alberta, Canada. Over the years I heard snippets of conversations about him when Granny would express her concerns about “Poor Bertie”, garnered from his letters. I remember mention of a big farm on the Prairie, living with a local woman but not married, things not being good, about some sort of conflict, and finally that he had tragically died in 1960, and that a gun was involved. She later believed that much his money had been taken. The distance between the siblings meant that communications had been very sketchy.

Bertie died intestate. Very recently his niece Etta Kerr sent me a copy of the distributions from his small estate. From it I gathered that he lived in Goodfare, Alberta. Yesterday afternoon I typed “Goodfare, Alberta” into Google maps and then looked for a possible burial location, the search brought me to Oliver’s Funeral Home in Grand Prairie. With no clear intent I sent message to them on their Contacts page and the following email conversation ensued.

Time 15:00

Hello

This is a long shot from Ireland!

My grand uncle Herbert Charles Gillmor, Goodfare, Alberta died on 5^th May 1960. We have no idea where he is buried. He had no family. Any suggestions where we might find this out. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Best Regards

Stan

AT 15:56

Good day Stan.  Thank you for your inquiry regarding your late Grand Uncle.  I checked our files and we did indeed do the funeral arrangements on May 14, 1960.  Date of death is listed as May 2-6, 1960 in our files.

I have attached what I have in our records and it appears he was buried in Lot 1, Block 31 of GP cemetery.  I should be able to get an opportunity to be near the cemetery in the next few days and will stop in to see if it the site is marked or not.  Let me know if there is anything else we can help with.

Best Regards,

Steve Logan,

Oliver’s Funeral Home,

10005 107 Ave, Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 1L8, (780) 532-2929

At 16:29

Good Morning Steve

Wow, you were fast with that! Thank you very much.

Where is the GP Cemetery? We knew that there had been a shooting. What newspaper should I look at to try and get a report on the incident?

I see my Uncle Alf is noted at the top, probably as the next of kin.

Thanks again.

Stan

At 17:17

Sorry Stan…that is local lingo.  GP Cemetery is short for Grande Prairie Cemetery.  An internet search will come up with that for sure but it is run and managed by the City of Grande Prairie and you can contact them phone at 1-780-538-0372 or by email at parks@cityofgp.com

Here is a link to their website:  https://www.cityofgp.com/city-services/services/cemetery

I have also left a message with the manager of the cemetery (Caroline) to confirm what their records say regarding the interment and will advise when I hear back.

The most likely newspaper to contact is the Daily Herald Tribune.  They were probably just the “Herald Tribune” that far back as I don’t believe they became a daily paper until later on.  Website link:  https://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/

Let me know if you run into any roadblocks and I will try and help out in any way I can.

Take care

At 17:18

Thanks Steve

You’re very helpful, given that you’re unlikely to get any of my business!!

I’ll follow up on the Tribune.

I’ve started writing a family history blog a few months ago and Herbert (Bertie) was my Grandmother’s brother. I heard her mention him many times but never know the real story. So now he might be in one of the future blogs.

All the best.

Stan

At 17:28

From Steve:

I visited the site he was buried and it is an unmarked graveside. I confirmed the plot immediately next to his from cemetery records online and will attach pics. His “neighbour” would be William Colpits. See below:

And you can see the records that he is confirmed in Block 31 Lot 2

The following picture would be where Herberts remains are currently resting. 

Basically, the snow kicked away was me looking for his headstone which is not present. By way of an option, I could direct you toward the sale of a headstone if that’s something you feel you would want. 

Hope this brings some light to your curiosity. 

Steve Logan

At 21:34

I emailed Steve asking for a quote to provide some simple mark for Herbert’s grave. Bertie’s story will be continued at a later date.

Ends