John Borotz

Borotz, John F. Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather Life long resident of West 7th Street St. Paul. Passed away Saturday at Anoka Homestead Nursing Home. John was born on December 11, 1921 in Dillon Montana to Stephen and Mary (Hoffman) Borotz. When he was 2 years old, his parents moved to St. Paul, MN. John served in WWII as a B17 and B29 airplane mechanic on Saipan. After the war he returned to St. Paul and worked for Burlington Northern Railroad until an accident forced him to reinvent himself. In those days there were not many older students, but John persevered at school and became a draftsman and estimator for Stainless Steel and later, Butler Manufacturing. The tanks he worked on were often displayed at the Minnesota State Fair. He also had his own business, John's Fix-It Shop. In 1946, John married June M. Slater and the following year he started building their dream home on the then-dirt road of W Seventh St. in St. Paul. He was such a good jack-of-all trades that he made it look easy. If he didn't know how to do something, with his can-do attitude he went ahead and tried it anyway. John loved gardening. His children grew up eating summer meals of green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, corn and raspberries. His yard overflowed with beautiful flowers. One years he built a greenhouse and grew lettuce in February. He was generous with sharing his produce with friends and hosting booya parties. John also enjoyed fishing, baseball and many camping trips to Minnesota State Parks. He enjoyed games of all kinds and trips to Las Vegas with June. John was a man of great faith and of devotion and service to his family. He was a model of endurance, love and generosity. He is survived by his wonderful wife of 68 years, June; his children, Kathleen Huls (St. Cloud), Richard (Charlene) (Chanhassen), Mary Jo (Michael) Franzen (Champlin) and Susan (Kevin) Leveret (East Thetford, VT.); his 10 grandchildren who brought him much happiness, Alisse, Natalie, Rebecca, Vanessa, Jaime, Chase, Sarah, Rachel, Lily and Ria; 9 wonderful great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers Steven, Robert and Joseph; and son-in-law John Huls. We would like to thank The Homestead of Anoka and Allina Hospice for their compassionate care of our father. Mass of Christian Burial Thursday 11am at LUMEN CHRISTI CATHOLIC CHURCH Boland at Cleveland. Visitation Wednesday 4-8pm at KESSLER & MAGUIRE 640 W. 7th St. 651-224-2341. Visitation also 1 hr. prior to mass at church. Interment Roselawn Cemetery.

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Visitation
Wednesday, November 13, 2013

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