Notes for: Allen 'Keith' Bordine
From Ronny Bodine:
Obituary, Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle of 8 March 2016.
TRAVERSE CITY---Betty Yvonne (Lee) Bordine was born on March 2, 1927 in her grandparents' home in Spruce. All four of her grandparents were Norwegian immigrants. Her grandfather escaped his destiny of working his entire life in the coal mines by becoming a stow-away on an ocean vessel at age 12. He went on to become captain of a fleet of three Great Lakes Schooners. He settled with his siblings near Alpena. Betty's parents, Edward and Ruth (Dahl) Lee cleared tree stumps to convert a harvested forest into farmland. They survived the Great Depression by growing all their own food in crops and livestock. She grew up with her younger sister, Joan and many cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents in the area. She walked two miles each way to attend the one-room schoolhouse located on land donated by her grandfather. Scarlet fever swept through the family when Betty was seven years old, leaving her mother deaf for months and Betty's heart damaged. Betty was driving farm machinery at age 12 and got her driver's license at age 14 because she was needed as a driver for the farm. Betty's brothers, Ronald, Robert and Gary came along during Betty's teen years. After graduating from Alpena High School in 1946, Betty worked at the JC Penney store for a year before moving to live with relatives in Detroit to find a 'good job'. She attended college night classes while working at Cadillac Motor Company. Her intelligence and diligence were noticed by her supervisors as she moved up the secretarial line to become executive secretary to the foundry superintendent. Her cousin introduced her to a local fellow in his church group, a dashing military pilot named Keith Bordine. After their wedding in 1957, Betty and Keith lived in married housing barracks at Michigan State University while Keith attained his Metallurgical Engineering degree on the GI Bill. Their daughter, Amy Lee, was born in Lansing. After Keith's graduation, they moved to Cleveland, Ohio for work and welcomed their son, Larry Allen, into the world. Keith's job with Bechtel Construction took the family to various cities in California. They made their way back to Michigan each summer to visit family. Betty continued taking writing courses whenever possible and joined writers' groups in Michigan and California during retirement. Betty and Keith wintered at Rossmor Retirement Community in Walnut Creek, California and summered at Hubbard Lake, Michigan. Many a fun-filled family gathering happened at the Hubbard Lake house, with pontoon boat rides, swimming, fishing and wild games of PIT. Betty made Michigan her year-round home after Keith's death in 2008, living at a condo overlooking Sunset Lake in Alpena. Still working on her writings, Betty threaded together stories she'd written as class assignments into her published memoir, Growing Up in the Thirties and Forties. The heart valve damaged by Scarlet Fever in childhood, took its toll on Betty. In 2014, she moved to Bay Ridge Community Living in Traverse City to be near her son and daughter-in-law, Nancy for care. During her decline Betty stated, "Maybe I'm here so long, so that I can show you how to go out graciously", which she did. Betty passed peacefully at home, just three hours before her 89th birthday. Betty was always active in church. She will be missed by her friends at Our Redeemer Lutheran, Walnut Creek, New Life Lutheran, Hubbard Lake, Grace Lutheran, Alpena, and Feast of Victory Lutheran, Traverse City. A memorial service will be held at The Village at Bay Ridge, West Building Library at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, March 8, with ice cream social to follow (Moomers Ice Cream, Betty's favorite).
Burials in Pleasant View Cemetery, Spruce, Alcona County, Michigan.
(For grave marker photo see Find A Grave Memorial No. 29936499)
A Keith Bordine 1st Lt US Air Force Korea Nov 20 1928 Aug 20 2008
BORDINE Betty (Lee) Mar. 2, 1927 A. Keith Nov. 20, 1928 Aug. 20, 2008