Remembering Helen M. Trombly

Helen M. Trombly (née Sproule) passed away peacefully at Leacock Care Centre in Orillia, Ontario, on June 16, 2026, in her 94th year.

Beloved wife of the late Bert Trombly (2014), Helen is survived by her children, Melinda (Bill) Williams, Joe (Betty) Trombly, Debbie (Terry) Knox, and Remi Trombly. Cherished grandmother of ten grandchildren and proud great-grandmother of numerous great-grandchildren.

Dear sister of Joan (the late John) Jackson, Carol (the late Jack) Watt, Coral (Leonard) Somerville, Marion Kowal, Marg (Jack) Inwood, and Jean (the late Ben) Barbary. Helen was predeceased by her brothers Merlin, Harold, Wilmer, Arnold, Elwood, and Floyd, and by her sisters Irene Rhodes and Phyllis Deane. She is also lovingly remembered by many nieces and nephews.

Born on July 5, 1932, in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Helen was the daughter of the late Thomas and Maxine (McDougall) Sproule. She was the middle child in a family of fifteen children, where there was always a playmate and another sibling to look after.

Helen was well known in the community for establishing Trombly's Supertest in Uptergrove alongside her husband, Bert. Of her many careers, her most important was raising four children (two of them especially well). She was a voracious reader, an avid knitter while watching television, excelled at long telephone conversations and was a strong Christian woman. She loved Irish, Christian, and country music.

Her siblings were her royal family, and she raised her children to know that they were and to cherish the same enduring love for one another that continues to this day. Family was always what mattered most. Helen was a loving grandmother who cared deeply about each of her grandchildren. She had a wonderful sense of humour, welcomed everyone with warmth and kindness, and treated her children's friends as though they were her own. She was three-quarters mother and one-quarter friend, a balance her children treasured more with each passing year.

Her children remember her as a proud and dignified woman who worked incredibly hard and always gave back to help others. More than anything, she loved her family and taught them that family is everything. To those who knew her best, she was the most loving person, with a smile that was always heartfelt. She was everyone's leaning post and the shoulder that held them up through life's many ups and downs.

That enduring love for family is Helen's greatest legacy. It began with the close bonds she shared with her brothers and sisters and lives on today in her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She taught them to love one another deeply, to support each other faithfully, and to remember that family always comes first.

The family will receive relatives and friends at Carson Funeral Homes L. Doolittle Chapel, 54 Coldwater St. E., Orillia (705) 326-3595 on Friday June 26, 2026 from 6-8 P.M. and on Saturday June 27, 2026 from 10 A.M. until time of funeral service at 12 noon. The interment will take place at the Atherley Cemetery, Atherley at 2:30 P.M. The funeral service will be livestreamed (link will be available soon). If desired, memorial donations to Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Knox Presbyterian Church, Uptergrove or Mariposa House Hospice would be appreciated.

As remembered by her son:

"My mom was the greatest mom ever. I could always talk to her so easily and ask her opinion—and she'd always give it freely. I'm still going to be talking to you, Mom. Never stop answering."

Helen was deeply loved and will be missed forever.