Maureen Theresa (McKillop) Trodden (83) of Melbourne, FL passed away on Thursday, December 9.

Maureen was born in Medford, Massachusetts to the late Archibald and Alice McKillop, nee Kennedy, on October, 3, 1938; the feast day of St. Therese until it was moved to Oct. 1 in 1969.  She graduated from St. Charles Borromeo School in 1956 and attended the Cambridge School of Business in Boston, MA.

She worked as a stenographer at the FBI in Boston and it was there a coworker, Barbara Trodden, introduced Maureen to her brother John (Jack) Trodden.  Maureen and Jack began to date and in 1962 they were married beginning a 59 year love affair raising a family of seven children.

Maureen was active member of many Catholic parishes including St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Woburn, MA where she taught the Catholic faith to school children, St. Michael Catholic Church Parish in Cranford, NJ where she was an active member of the Rosary Society serving a term as president and a member of the Samaritans aiding others in need and many fund raising projects. At St. Albert the Great Parish in Weymouth, MA, she was a member of the liturgical committee and a church decoration volunteer. Following a move to Florida, she became a member of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic community in Indialantic, FL.

Maureen lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Florida, but wherever life led her, her heart was always in Woburn, MA.  She loved exchanging facts about Woburn in a Facebook group dedicated to its history.  She recalled people and places from years ago with ease. She formed many lifelong friendships with people from Woburn and enjoyed wonderful gatherings for special occasions or for no reason.  Maureen had an incredible gift of knowing precisely what to say to inspire, council, console or lift up others in need by her words and deeds.

Maureen was an accomplished cook and baker.  In Woburn, she learned the art of cake decorating from Mrs. Merles and went on to delight many family and friends with her beautiful cakes; a tradition carried on today by her daughter, Amy. She loved books and read regularly.  Later in life, she learned how to adapt to new technologies to read books and play games online and was a regular user of Kindle, Facebook and Instagram.  During COVID, she became a master of jigsaw puzzles completing most without losing a piece.

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, John Trodden of Melbourne, FL, and by her children John Jr and his partner, Mark LaPlante of Melbourne, FL, Jennifer (Bruce) Ruopp of Bloomfield, NJ, Christopher (Kimberly) Trodden of Tewksbury, MA, Amy (Jamie) Jankauskas of Clark, NJ, Gary Trodden of Sanford, FL, Jeffrey Trodden of Southbridge, MA and Andrew (Kristin) Trodden of South Plainfield, NJ.  She is also survived by four grandchildren, Callie Jankauskas, Trevor and Tyler Trodden and Anthony Ruopp.  She is survived her sisters Katherine McKillop of Woburn. MA and Martha (Glenn) Carnes of Georgetown, TX and by many loving cousins, nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents, Archibald and Alice McKillop and her brother, Donald McKillop.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Ascension Catholic Church, 2950 N. Harbor City Blvd, Melbourne, FL 32935 on Tuesday, December 21 at 11 a.m. with interment to immediately follow in the Ascension Memorial Garden.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shriner's Hospital in Boston, MA in her memory.