On January 11, 2016 Richard and Donna Korban passed on their family business to a long-time friend and fellow funeral director, Joe Coffey and his family. 

Martin and Helen Korban established Korban Funeral Chapel at 907 Main Street in 1977 along with the help of their son Richard.  Richard and his wife Donna operated the business along with Martin and Helen until Martin’s passing in 2001.  Richard and Donna then took on the day to day operations. 

The Korbans proudly operated their funeral chapel as a small family owned business ensuring that everyone who walked through their doors was offered attentive and personalized service.   

As it became evident that their children were moving on in directions other than the funeral profession, they knew that they never just wanted to list the business for sale, nor ever wanted to sell to the highest bidder.  After many years of dedicated 24/7 work, without much vacation, Richard and Donna were given the opportunity to slow down.  They found someone to whom they could entrust the family business and Korban name!

Martin and Helen had met Joe Coffey as co-parishioners of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church when Joe was starting in funeral service at another funeral provider in the city. That many years ago, Martin had said to his family, “there’s a young fellow that could take over our business one day.”  Over the years, Joe would occasionally help Korbans out when an extra hand was needed. 

Joe grew up in Ethelbert, MB and completed his high school at St. Vladimir’s College in Roblin. After studying philosophy and theology for the priesthood with the Basilian Fathers, he went on to answer a vocation to funeral service.  After working for a large company in Winnipeg he went on to become the owner and president of the Canadian College of Funeral Service, training funeral directors and embalmers across the country.  Eventually he purchased Sneath-Strilchuk Funeral Services, serving his home territory in Manitoba’s Parkland (Dauphin, Ethelbert, Roblin, Ste. Rose and area).  

Joe looks forward to serving families in Winnipeg while maintaining the Korban standard.  He will draw on his experience of serving communities in rural Manitoba and hopes to maintain the “home feel with genuine attentive service” that the Korbans did so well.   

You are welcome to call us at any time of the day, any day of the week, for immediate assistance.  Or, visit our funeral home in person at your convenience.  We also provide a wealth of information here on our website so you can learn more from the privacy of your own home.