Brian Franklin Broley, 62, of St. Catharines, Ontario, formerly of Barrie, passed away on November 11th, 2021 after a brief and sudden illness.
Brian was born on December 3, 1958 to H Franklin Broley & M Flora Broley (Peacock) in Barrie, Ontario. He graduated with a degree in Business from York University which sparked his love of entrepreneurship.
After graduation, he spent many years working in the printing industry helping to build Kempenfelt Graphics into one of the top printing companies in North America. During this time, he discovered his love for the sport of ball hockey and launched the Barrie Ball Hockey Club in 1994.
Brian has been called “Mr. Ball Hockey” by many people. He was a titan in the sport and wanted nothing more than to push it forward towards Olympic levels. Growing from a single rink location in Barrie to what ballhockey.com has become today, what was most important to him was the relationships he formed because of the game. Brian was a passionate ambassador for the sport, and he will be sorely missed by players around the globe.
Brian was a major contributor to several charities including Hockey Night in Barrie supporting the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), Hockey Night in St. Catharines supporting United Way & the Barrie Public Library, Painswick Branch. In addition, he was able to help introduce ball hockey to thousands of children through his own foundation, Growing Up Through Sports.
His family meant more to him than anything else in the world, something he would often mention to players at the club. He was endlessly proud of his daughter, Laura and son, Michael and always tried his best to support them in any way he could.
Brian was predeceased by his mother Flora. He is survived by his father Frank (Patricia), wife Lu, son Michael (Katelyn), daughter Laura (Mitchell), sister Brenda & brother Bruce (Maureen). He is also loved by many nieces and nephews as well as several great nieces and nephews.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers that donations are made to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) ICU Unit for “Wellness & Education” or to a charity of your choosing. At Brian’s request there will be no formal funeral at this time, but a celebration of life will be announced at a future date and time to be determined by current provincial health guidelines.
