History

Wenban Funeral Home, Ltd. is currently the oldest continuously operating business in Lake Forest. Founded by Curtis Gideon Wenban in 1889 and located at 233 E. Deerpath Road (corner of Oakwood Avenue) Wenban developed the funeral home and ambulance service along with his coach and livery business. The original building was built of molded blocks made of cement and sand that he had hauled up from the Lake Forest Beach.

He was first joined in the business by his son Fredrick Porter Wenban and then by another son, George Irving Wenban, Sr. who later sold the funeral home in 1976 to Thaddeus Larkowski and his former business partner, both employees of the firm at the time. Mr. Larkowski and his former business partner remained at the Deerpath location for ten years until they moved the funeral home to its current location at the corner of Vine & Western Avenues.

For well over a century, Wenban Funeral Home has been serving the families of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, as well as the surrounding communities, with the sole intent of helping them find peace after the loss of a loved one and do so in an honest and dignified manner.