College community pays respects to one of its gems
Melissa Pope
Issue date: 3/10/10 Section: News
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"Everyone tells me I act just like my mom, and everyone keeps telling me to cry. I am going to keep on crying until I'm with my mom up there singing and dancing again," she said amid sobs.
Castleton State College celebrated the life of Koran Salem Trombley on Feb. 19, 2010, three days after she passed away unexpectedly after a long battle with cancer. It was held in the Campus Center and there were people lined up out the doors and overflowing into the lobby. One after another, people who knew her took the microphone to tell of their favorite memories with Trombley.
There was not a dry eye in the room as songs and memories were shared. From Castleton professors to students to family members, the common thread was the love that they all clearly have for her.
Trombley was born on May 6, 1970 and resided in Fair Haven with her four children: Adam, 17, Zachary, 15, Kyra, her stepdaughter, Abby, 12, and husband Chuck.
There are only so many titles that can be given to someone who impacts everyone's lives around them. Trombley was one of those people that could not be pigeonholed with one label.
She was a Castleton non-traditional student who came to this campus with a mission to leave her mark and ended up working here after she graduated. Professor Thomas Conroy handled her registration when she came to Castleton State College.
"She must have been 31 or 32 when she came here. She was really just good at anything she did. She was always one of the best students in my classes," said Conroy.
One of her best attributes, as far as coming to college as a non-traditional student, was that Trombley had the ability to get along in class with the 19 and 20-year-olds and also maintain a level of maturity that comes along with being an older student, according to Ennis Duling.
Duling worked with Trombley in the communications office and interacted with her on a daily basis.
"She really was a wonderful employee, but her best attribute was that she really was such a great mom," said Duling.
Trombley's desk had numerous things on it like her framed Castleton diploma on the wall, Class of 2005, Magna cum laude, a camcorder that she was known to use all around campus, a postcard from Key West from a wonderful vacation with her husband, a photo of her recent wedding on her desktop of her computer, and last but not least, all the random knick knacks of being a mom. Photos of her children surrounded Trombley as she worked, and cards from Kyra graced the walls.
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