EXETER — A tragic and unexpected death of a retired farming couple has shocked the local community.
The retired farmer, 90-year-old Grant Triebner, and his wife, 83-year-old Ada Triebner, were found dead near their farmhouse north of Exeter in Huron County.
The retired crop farmer and his wife were found the morning of Jan. 3. Triebner had gone to the barn the night before and suffered a massive heart attack. He was found just inside the door of the barn.
His wife, who suffered from dementia, was found near him on the ground outside the barn. She died of exposure, after overnight temperatures in the area dropped to -16 C with the wind chill.
The couple, who lived on Airport Line, were remembered fondly in an online obituary. Neighbour Jim Rowe, who knew the Triebners for 64 years, told the Toronto Sun that the deaths of the extraordinarily close couple was a horrifying shock.
Triebner was a cash crop farmer who retired almost 20 years ago and rented out his land to nearby farmers. Rowe told the Sun that Triebner remained very active in his advanced age, bicycling in the summer and snowblowing his driveway in the winter. He was also musically gifted and could play several instruments, Rowe said.
“They never did much apart from each other. They were so close, together all their lives,” Rowe said.