Borchers, Elmer - 1915-2005

BORCHERS, KOCK, REEMTS

Posted By: Linda Vander Linden - Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/7/2011 at 11:57:51

Hawarden - Elmer Louis John Borchers, 89, Hawarden, formerly of Akron, died Sunday, May 15, at Hillcrest Care Center in Hawarden.

Services were Wednesday, May 18, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Preston Township, in rural Akron, with the Rev. William Kallestad officiating. Burial was at the church cemetery under the direction of Carlsen Funeral Home-Schroeder Chapel in Akron.

Elmer Borchers, son of John F. and Katherine (Reemts) Borchers, was born Oct. 3, 1915 in Akron. He was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran faith. He attended country school in Preston Township of rural Akron until he started helping his father on the family farm in the early 1930;s. He married Minnie Koch on Nov. 18, 1937, in Preston Township. They farmed in Preston Township for many years. They moved in the early 1980s to Akron. He continued to farm and help out where he could until health reasons forced him to retire five years ago. Most recently, he and his wife had been residing in assisted living in Hawarden.

He was a longtime member of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Preston Township, in rural Akron, where he was a former trustee, deacon and cemetery board member. He also was a former member of the Lutheran Brotherhood.

He was a longtime member of the Iowa Farm Bureau. He enjoyed fishing, traveling, and watching sports, especially the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State University Cyclones.

But most of all, he loved the times spent with his family, especially his grandchildren.

Survivors include his wife, Minnie Koch of Hawarden; five children, Jack and Kay Borchers of Hawarden, Pat Smith of Kansas City, MO; Bob and Karin Borchers of Hawarden, Alan and Linda Borchers of Atlanta, and Mark and Sandy Borchers of Akron; 17 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-laws, Lorena Gabel of Akron, and Marilyn Koch of Waverly; and a brother-in-law, Hank and Lee Koch of Virginia Beach, VA.

He was preceded in death by three sisters, Amanda and Benny Fisher, Esther and Norman Heeren and Irene and Lucian Cornish.

Source: Northwest Iowa Review, May 21, 2005