While her husband was working on his car sales business, Kay Troncalli was busy growing award-winning flowers.
Mrs. Troncalli lived and breathed the beautiful blooms, and her yard was a seasonal paradise.
“She loved flowers,” said Catherine Brown, her daughter from Jefferson. “She was an accredited flower show judge, she won every ribbon there ever was in a flower show and we have silver bowl, after bowl after bowl she’d won.”
Eight months after the death of her husband Samuel Troncalli, Catherine Clotilde Troncalli, known as Kay, of Stone Mountain, died Wednesday at The Fountainview Center after a long illness. She was 88.
A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at Saint Thomas More Church, 636 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. A graveside service will immediately follow at the Decatur Cemetery. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Troncalli was the youngest of six children, born in Valley Springs, S.D. and raised in Fort Myers, Fla. Soon after she graduated from high school, she moved to Atlanta to stay with an older sister. She met a young Samuel Troncalli at a church function, and soon after he returned from World War II, the two wed. The couple celebrated 66 years of marriage days before Mr. Troncalli died.
Mrs. Troncalli was a devoted wife and mother, said Charlie Troncalli, a son from Stone Mountain. She was the manager of the family and supported her husband’s business interests.
“She was the glue for the whole family,” her son said. “That’s what allowed him to work those long hours.”
As the wife of a businessman, Mrs. Troncalli often found herself at social functions, where she blossomed, he children said.
“There was something that dad always said that tickled me,” Mrs. Brown said. “He said in the business world, he was the boss, but when they went somewhere, where they were socializing, he became Kay Troncalli’s husband, because she was the party girl. She initiated all of the parties, planned all of the parties and gave fantastic parties.”
Mrs. Troncalli's love of life could been seen in everything she did, her son said.
“She could walk into her backyard, which was immaculate, and just meld into it,” he said. “She loved nature, working in the dirt and just being a part of life.”
Mr. Troncalli said his mother had a youthful and inquisitive, outlook in life.
His sister agreed, and added, “she lived and loved life, and she wasn’t afraid of death. I don’t think she missed anything in life, so there were no regrets at the end.”
In addition to her son and daughter, Mrs. Troncalli is survived by sons, Ed Troncalli of Cumming, Tom Troncalli of Stone Mountain; 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
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