LAWRENCE INMAN BORDNER

Lawrence Bordner

Lawrence Inman Bordner, 95, of Canton died at 5:06 a.m. Monday, April 5, 2004, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

He was born Jan. 14, 1909, in rural Lewistown, a son of Homer and Mary Elizabeth Blackaby Bordner. He married Marjorie Louise Rich on April 21, 1946, in Kentucky. She survives.

Also surviving are one son, Larry (and Juta) of Canton; one daughter, Larrilyn Bertocchio of Arlington, Va.; two granddaughters; and one great-grandson.

He was preceded in death by three brothers and four sisters.

A World War II Army veteran, he served during the invasion of France and landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, and continued across Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge. He served in the battles of Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.

He was a life member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He was a semi-truck driver for Glen Lovell Trucking in Bushnell and worked at Canton Elevator Co. before serving in the military.

After serving in the military, he studied air conditioning and refrigeration and became an engineer in that field. He then owned and operated an air conditioning and refrigeration business for more than 40 years, serving several area counties.

He was active in the Canton Park District Summer League and had served as a pitcher on area baseball teams in his earlier years.

He was a member of the National Association of Antique Clock and Watch Collectors, where he served on the board of the area chapter.

He was a life member of the National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, where he served as historian of the Spoon River Chapter. He also was a life and charter member of the National Society of Sons of Colonial England, the Fulton County Historical and Genealogical Society and Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive Associates.

Services were held Thursday at Murphy-Sedgwick Memorial Home with Rev. Dr. Robert Holler officiating. Burial was in White Chapel Memory Gardens.

Memorials may be made to the Macular Degeneration Foundation Inc., PO Box 531313, Henderson, NV 89053, or to Fulton County Humane Society, 43 S. Main St., Canton IL 61520.

Published in the Astoria South Fulton Argus on 4/14/2004