Her parents were Hart Massey, an industrialist who founded the Massey Manufacturing agricultural implements company, and Eliza Ann Phelps. She became interested in mission work and organized classes in domestic science, which led to her founding the Lillian Massey School of Household Science and Art.[3]
She married John Mill Treble on January 26, 1897, at the age of 42. He was the proprietor of the Great Shirt House, located at King and Bay streets in Toronto. He had been a long-time suitor.
After their marriage, Treble gave up his business to attend to the finances of the Fred Victor Mission and the Deaconess House, charities supported by Lillian. Treble died on May 17, 1909, during a meeting of the Massey-Harris board of directors.[5] Lillian subsequently moved to a health resort in Santa Barbara, California. She died in 1915, leaving behind an estate of CA$2 million, including an island on Lake Rosseau in Ontario.[6]
