The History of Mississauga's 100+ Year Old Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home

Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home 2022

A landmark in every sense of the word, Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home in Port Credit has been a cornerstone of the community for generations. The long-standing fixture in Port Credit faces an uncertain future due to it recently going up for sale as per a recent real estate listing.

Here’s the history of this landmark building in Port Credit.

Ad from the Port Credit News, May 16, 1930

The building that houses the funeral home was originally built, in part, in 1923-24. George Frederick (“Fred”) Skinner (1885-1977) established a funeral home here in March of 1924. At first he was assisted by undertaker Otto Wellington Cavan (1879-1957). The enterprise was known in its early years as the G.F. Skinner Funeral Home. Fred Skinner was a cousin of the prominent Skinner family of Mineola, which likely played a part in bringing him to Port Credit after having previously operated a funeral home in Schomberg. Fred, together with his wife Mary, would remain a fixture in the Port Credit community for over 50 years.

Skating at St Lawrence Starch, Skinner Funeral home in background, c1947

In addition to being Port Credit’s long-serving funeral director, undertaker, and occasional ambulance driver, Fred Skinner was active in community affairs.  He served as a Councillor and Deputy Reeve before being elected as Reeve of Port Credit in 1945. He also served as a Warden for Peel County until his retirement from politics in 1953.

Skating at St Lawrence Starch, c1952, Skinner funeral home in background

In 1939 Francis Albert (“Frank”) Middlebrook (1912-1994) came to apprentice under Fred Skinner, and in 1941 he graduated from the Canadian School of Embalming. In 1947 Skinner and Middlebrook Limited Funeral Home was formed. The building, first opened in 1924, underwent an expansion in 1952. In 1961 the funeral home was sold to long-time employee W. John Insley, who retained the name of Skinner and Middlebrook for the funeral home. In 1962 additional renovations and additions altered the façade of the building into what we see today. John Insley was joined by his children Heather and Scott, making it truly a family-run enterprise and a treasured component of community life in Port Credit.

Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home from 1953

Located at 128 Lakeshore Road East, if you look closely at the windows and front door on the east side of the building, and you will catch glimpses of the 1924 building peeking through the modern façade – a building and business that has served the Port Credit community for over 100 years.

Skinner and Middlebrook Funeral Home, 2007