William Earl was born at home on Lot 5N, Concession 9 in Derby Township on Saturday, June 4, 1938, to proud parents Lorne Alexander and Lillian Euphemia (Hall) Trelford. He was the oldest of three children, later welcoming younger sister Gwen (1939) and brother, David (1945). Earl grew up on Lot 26, Concession 7, of Arran Township, the generational Trelford family farm, just west of Invermay. The children all attended S.S. #7 Arran (Invermay), but Earl was a farm boy at heart. He enjoyed spending a lot of time in the barn and soon got involved with the Arran Tara 4-H Club. Earl was active within the beef and tractor groups, which culminated with his showing of a prize-winning short horned steer as he was graduating from Chesley District High School. He used the money from the sale of this calf ($1,300) plus a loan from his Uncle Charlie ($200) in 1956 to buy his first farm, Lot 27 E1/2, Concession 6, which was a 50-acre parcel of land.

It was during this time that a young local girl, four years his junior, caught Earl’s eye. Barbara Maisy Ferguson and Earl soon began dating and were later married. Together they welcomed their daughter, Carole (1958), and sons, Doug (1960), and Bill (1968). Life was busy on the farm, as Earl worked in co-operation with his father and brother David, often helping each other with the crops and sharing machinery. He began milking in 1958 and built his herd and farm for the next seventeen years. During this period, he added another 170 acres to his plate when he acquired his 2^nd farm in 1958, and his last property in 1963. Earl thoroughly enjoyed working with the cattle and was always happiest when he was busy at work – often accompanied by his beloved K-9 sidekicks.

By the mid 70’s, Earl was looking for a bit of a change in speed, and together with Barb built a new home on the back of their property in 1977. Sadly, their marriage ended a few years later, with Earl relocating to Hanover. By this time, Earl had started working for the Federal Government, at the Record of Performance (ROP), whereby he travelled Southwestern Ontario weekly, visiting dairy farms, testing butter fat content and weighing milk. Remember, this was the late 70’s, and Earl boarded at the farm he was working on. In one such year, he slept in 228 different beds – imagine! He was away from his family Monday through Saturday morning before heading back out onto the road again Monday morning. ROP was later reallocated to the province, whereby Earl transferred to a similar position with the newly formed Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) where he remained until his retirement in the early 2000’s.

On Friday, September 4, 1981, Earl was introduced to Donna Marie MacKenzie while attending a singles dance in Hanover. As the story is told, the announcer asked everyone to stand up, turn around, and dance with the person standing in front of them. Their first dance was to none other than Crystal Chandelier, by Charley Pride, and as they say, the rest is history. The couple was married on Saturday, March 30, 1985, and soon called a farm in Invermay home. It was here that the couple later began a successful puppy breeding business, raising Jack Russells. They remained in Invermay until 2010, before downsizing and calling Chesley home.

Together with Donna, Earl enjoyed travelling. They spent three winters in their motor home in Arizona, saw the East Coast and enjoyed an Alaskan cruise. Many summers were spent at their trailer, at Cedar Rail, where they enjoyed hosting friends, family, but particularly their grandchildren. In his younger years, Earl was an avid snowmobiler. He also liked to keep current and was a regular reader of the Owen Sound Sun Times as well as a variety of farming publications. Earl enjoyed playing cards, with cribbage and euchre being his favourites. Earl was a huge John Wayne fan and would never miss an old Western. Honestly, he could never get enough of them, even if he had seen them multiple times! When it came to food, he was a meat and potatoes guy, with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy being his favourite. In recent years, he often remarked that he missed his mother and wife’s cooking… Other favourites included Chinese food, steak, and vanilla milkshakes … yum, yum!

In recent years, Earl became a caregiver to Donna as her mobility and health declined. They moved to Hanover and The Village in 2016, where they both received additional support. Here, they enjoyed socializing with other residents, as well as visits from family, particularly the little ones. Sadly, Donna passed away in April of 2024, and Earl was on his own once again. He was surrounded with love and support from family and friends, but unfortunately his own health challenges worsened in recent months and he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family at Hanover & District Hospital on Monday, December 8, 2025, in his 88^th year.

Loving father of Carole (Wayne) Robertson of Kincardine, Doug (Katie) Trelford, and Bill (Tracy) Trelford, all of Chesley and stepfather of Cherylann (Keith) LaPlant of Moonbeam, Steven (Janice) MacKenzie of Oromocto, New Brunswick, David (Sharon) MacKenzie of Invermay, and Diane (Mike) Drane of Meaford. Cherished grandfather of nine, great-grandfather of eleven, step grandfather of fourteen, and step great-grandfather of nineteen. Dear brother-in-law of Karen Boyle-Trelford of Kitchener, and Gordon (Wendy) Barfoot of Owen Sound. Earl will be fondly remembered by several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wives Barbara (Ferguson) and Donna (Barfoot), brother David, sister Gwen (Harvey) Scarrow, and his parents Lorne and Lillian (Hall) Trelford.

A memorial service honouring Earl’s life will be held at Chesley Community Church on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 2 p.m. Spring inurnment in Hillcrest Cemetery, Tara.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Chesley Hospital Foundation or the Chesley Community Church would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.