Grace Bourque Borders' Obituary
A funeral mass for Grace Bourque Borders will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 26 at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The mass will be preceded the evening before with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rader Funeral Home, 1617 Judson Road. The Rev. Gavin will preside. Interment will follow at Lakeview Cemetery.
Mrs. Borders died May 19 after an extended illness.
Known to her friends as Mickey, she had lived in Longview since 1968 after moving here from New Hampshire with her husband, Brad, and their three sons, Gary, Scott and Gregg. She was trained as a registered nurse and taught nursing aide classes in Longview for several years.
Mrs. Borders was born on Jan. 26, 1930 in Boston, Mass. Her parents were Joseph and Hedwidge Bourque, who immigrated to New England from Canada in the 1920s. The family moved to Concord, N.H. when she was young, and she graduated from Concord High School in 1948.
She was a water safety instructor as a teenager and became a registered nurse upon graduating from the Mass Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Boston. In nursing school she met her future husband, Brad Borders, on a blind date while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. They married in 1953, and he preceded her in death in 2009. Brad Borders was a well-known East Texas artist in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the 1960s Mrs. Borders worked at Concord Hospital as a nurse and served as camp nurse at Camp Spalding, one of the oldest summer camps in New Hampshire. She loved creating ceramics, stained glass and playing the piano. For many years, she cared for her husband, Brad, after he became disabled. She attended St. Mary's and was a member of the Altar Society before her illness. She lived at Summer Meadows until her death.
She is survived by three sons: Gary Borders and Scott Borders, of Austin; and Gregg Borders of Garland; siblings Jerry Bourque of Bow, N.H.; Emil Bourque of Hopkinton, N.H.; Irene Kinosh of Bristol, Conn.; and Jeannette Lecaroz of Concord, N.H. Also surviving are her grandchildren: Kasey Borders and Chris Borders of Austin; Meredith Borders and Stephanie Hulsey of Houston; Matthew Borders of College Station; Christina Borders, Adrian Martinez and Nicole Martinez all of Garland.
In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Borders was preceded in death by her brother, Armand Bourque, of Lindenhurst, Illinois.
Pallbearers will be Jacob Hulsey, Matthew Schlabach, Gregg Borders, Chris Borders, Matt Borders and Adrian Martinez.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Highway 80 Rescue Mission or to a charity of one's choice.
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