Our Family's History
The founder of the firm was Dyzart J. Robb who established the company on this exact same corner over 80 years ago in 1924. Born in Donegal, Ireland, young Dyzart came to Canada near the turn of the century with his wife Ann and took up residence in nearby Wyoming, Ontario. He entered the funeral profession as an apprentice with the firm of Phippen and Simpson. The rest is history. Dyzart operated the D. J. Robb Funeral Home and Ambulance Service for the next 33 years until his death in 1957. He left his heirs a legacy of valued service and a standard of excellence that is still our main goal today.
Dyzart's sons, Bob and Jack who had worked for their father since the end of the war then took over ownership upon his death. They discontinued the ambulance service in 1958 when the hospital began it's own service and promptly donated all of their equipment including a newer model Superior Cadillac ambulance to the local St. John's Ambulance organization, who at that time were in dire need of newer equipment. The firm continued to grow under their watch for many years. Jack passed away in 1979 leaving Bob the sole owner of the company.
At that time Bob felt it was time to begin the process of entering into a partnership with his sons Jim and Bill, who had been licensed and working with the firm for the past several years. In 1980 the purchase of shares from their father began making them partners in the family firm. It was a proud moment for all to have our firm be able to continue within the same family for yet one more generation. The traditions and values would continue, always striving to do better to improve our services and meet the new challenges that lay ahead. Unfortunately Bob suffered a massive stroke in 1982 that forced him into early retirement. He passed away in 1995 leaving his sons to carry on the values and traditions passed on to him by his father.
In 1986, Jim and Bill began a modernization project that saw the addition of a new 250 seat funeral chapel along with new offices, display area and garage space. This made our firm the only one in Lambton County with its own chapel designed specifically for funeral and memorial services. There is now a central foyer and hallway to keep each of our three visitation rooms and funeral chapel completely private, allowing us to provide our services to several families at one time if need be.
In 1997 Jim's son Joel began working at the funeral home. He qualified for his license in 2001 and has become an integral part of the firm. We take pride that another generation has been added to the history of our funeral home. Joel brings with him fresh new ideas as each generation did before him. We are honored that this company has had the privilege to serve so many of our community's families for these many years and will continue now for years to come.