Thomas "Tom" William Trimble

With his family at his side, after a short illness, Thomas William Trimble passed away on June 17th, 2026, at Portage General Hospital at the age of 80 years.

Predeceased by his father Henry Thomas, his mother Lillian Muriel Brook (nee Harden), and by his loving wife Idie Trimble (Verwey), he is lovingly remembered by his children Monty (Monica) Trimble, Adam (Julie) Trimble, and Laurel (Justin) Trimble. Tom also leaves behind his four grandchildren, Lucas (Monty and Monica), Sawyer and Boyd (Laurel and Justin), and Everett (Adam and Julie).

Tom had numerous siblings, Hal (Audrey), Mary, Gail (John), Pat (Ken), Sharon (Alfred), Gladys (Barry), Opal (Willard), and Steve. Numerous in-laws, Joanne (Karl) Voesenek, John (Norma) Verwey, Marie (Lloyd) Delf, Geraldine (Gerry) Masson, Bernie Verwey, Arnold (Judy) Verwey, Pat (Owen) Williams, and Randy (Shirlene) Verwey along with numerous nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

Tom was born on the family farm located just north of Portage la Prairie on February 26th, 1946. He often told stories of taking the horse and sled to school in the winter (not that he enjoyed school all that much) or having to walk to school in the summer “uphill both ways”. In his later teens he moved to Portage and then to Winnipeg for a brief time, before returning home to Portage. It was there that he met Idie Verwey. Tom and Idie were married on July 8, 1972, and lived in Portage for a few years before moving to their farm in Gainsborough in 1979. Having grown up on farms, it was always important to Tom and Idie that their children have a similar upbringing and childhood that they both had.

Tom worked on a farm north of Portage, tried his hand at auctioneering then began working for Portage Chrysler, ending up in sales. Tom always had a gift for gab and was a natural salesman. He worked for Portage Chrysler for 40+ years before eventually retiring. Tom loved selling cars, but he equally loved working on his farm with his wife and children. Following his regular after supper nap, he would always be outside working in the yard, checking on the cows, and caring for the lawn. The only thing that would drag him inside would be a family event or a wrestling match on television.

Beyond farming and family Tom loved hunting, taking one to two weeks off work each year to hunt deer. Later in life, during the midday, he would spend countless hours working on his other pride and joy, his Christmas decorations. Tom had a light display that was hard to match, adding more and more items each year. His 20 ft. high candy cane could be seen from miles down the road and was the signal that Christmas was drawing near. At the display’s peak it would take Tom a whole day just to string out extension cords and set up timers. He also enjoyed bowling, playing in a league for several years.

Most of all, Tom loved his children without fail. Even though they caused him a significant amount of stress, with Monty “fixing the snowmobile”, Adam “travelling all over hell’s half acre”, and Laurel “never stopping”, he loved spending time with his family and cherished every moment with them. He would attend as many sport events for the grandchildren as he could (there were too many to make them all) and loved having all his children and grandchildren at the farm for family meals. He was always ready with a “be careful” if hearing his kids were on a trip and was quick to text or call to make sure they made it home safe if he hadn’t heard from them.

A special thanks to Arnold and Judy for helping dad with the farm site later in life, Pat and Owen for taking dad to his medical appointments and having him over for countless fish frys, to the staff & friends at Tornado’s for always checking up on him and to the team at Portage General Hospital who went above and beyond for him.

Tom lived a full life, and he took every opportunity to enjoy what it had to offer. Although sometimes a bit gruff on the exterior, he was a loyal friend and was an extremely caring, loving, and thoughtful husband, uncle, brother, brother-in-law, father, and grandfather. Even though he will be missed terribly, we can all take solace in the fact that he is now holding Idie in heaven.

Funeral service will be held on Monday, June 29, 2026, at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel at 11:00 am. A private family burial will take place at Maple Grove Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Tom may be made to the Maple Grove Cemetery Site 42, Comp 9, RR3, Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 3A3.

A tree will be planted and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com