Lt. Col. Frederick Edgar Borns, 83, died Saturday, Nov. 11,
2002.
Lt. Col. Frederick Edgar Borns, 83, died Saturday, Nov. 11, 2002.
He was born May 4, 1919 in Gary, Ind. to Fred A. and Mary Margaret Borns.
He was the loving husband of Mary Dean Borns (Holmes) and father to Mary Borns-Stern of Suwanee, Ga., Fred G. Borns, Mark W. Borns and Mike H. Borns of Phoenix, Ariz. Mr. Borns’ grandchildren are Frederic Stern, Mary Elizabeth Stern, Tom Borns, Zachary Borns and Hallie Borns.
After graduation in 1937 from Horace Mann High School in Gary, he started a successful distributing business for Red Dot Foods covering Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Iowa.
On April 18, 1942, he turned this enterprise over to his brother, Walter Borns, after being drafted for Army service. While studying meteorology at Chanute Field, Ill., he was accepted as a pilot cadet into the Army Air Corps. Flight training led to qualification as a B-17 command pilot in the 8th Air Force. He flew 35 combat missions over Europe between June and August, 1944. Targets included dangerous early raids on Berlin and supply drops to the Free French. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. Mr. Borns remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1979.
After World War II, Borns migrated to California where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. While attending law school, he met Mary Dean Holmes, a medical technologist. They were married in November 1948. The birth of their first child forced a cessation of law studies, and Mr. Borns joined Pan American World Airways as a navigator on long ocean routes being pioneered by Pan Am at the time. Although combat-qualified, he was a master of the use of the sextant for navigation. As a captain, he commanded the first Pan Am flight to Moscow during the early months of “Detente” in November 1972.
Retiring from Pan Am in 1975, Borns was free to manage his walnut orchard on Center Avenue in Morgan Hill and to pursue his hobby of investing.
Col. Borns was a devout member of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church and a member of the Order of Daedalians, Quiet Birdmen, and the Ox-5 club.
A rosary will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 at Johnson’s Funeral Home and a Memorial Mass will be held at St. Catherine’s at noon on Saturday, Nov. 16 at St. Catherine’s Parish Hall.
In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the American Cancer Society.
