The first memory that comes to mind is when I was assigned to be grandpa in his navy years for a family reunion. It was for Grandpa's b-day and each family presented some part of his life. In preparation for that I had to get the info out of Grandpa without him knowing what it was for. Mom told me I just needed to get him started and he would do the rest. I asked him one simple question and he just went on and on about his time in the navy. I couldn't take any notes during his story time and had to write them down afterwards in order to prepare my "story time." It's a good thing Grandpa liked telling stories about
his past. He had such an interesting life. - Mckay
I would love it if you could put in the song I sang at the funeral. It's called Long Time Traveller and it's by the Wailin' Jenny's. It goes like this:
These fleeting charms of earth
Farewell, your springs of joy are dry
My soul now seeks another home
A brighter world on high
I'm a long time traveling here below
I'm a long time traveling away from home
I'm a long time traveling here below
To lay this body down
Farewell, kind friends whose tender care
Has long engaged my love
Your fond embrace I now exchange
For better friends above
I'm a long time traveling here below
I'm a long time traveling away from home
I'm a long time traveling here below
To lay this body down
To lay this body down
He was always the teaser.
Nowadays I can't eat pasta without thinking of my Italian grandpa.
Deia
I FEW THINGS I REMEMBER.... (not necessarily in any order) Dad coaching my little League team Dad (Forked Tongue) doing Indian Guides with Phil & me (Little Deer) Dad instigating & participating in our neighborhood water fights Dad's sourdough pancakes Dad baptizing and confirming me on Saturday so Granny could be there Dad being at all my baseball, soccer, basketball and football games Dad's father and son golf trips Dad calling the cops on Mom, me and all my friends as we toilet paper the Preston's for my birthday party Dad and me building the gazebo and changing rooms by the pool Dads building the tree fort we spent hours playing "Lost in Space" in Dad wandering around the back yard early in the morning because it was his favorite time of day Dad and his famous "kitchen sink" breakfast omelets he made the day before Mom would come home from a trip Dad and Mom coming to Chile to pick me up from my mission Dad being a witness at my temple marriage Dad throwing the baseball or football with me in front of the house after coming home from work wearing his suit Dad studying for the California Bar exam in the family room Dad taking movies of us as we came down the stairs for Christmas with his huge spotlight on the camera Dad letting us all jump on his back while laying on the floor and rolling over to knock us off Dad joking about my "new name" in the middle of the temple when I first took out my endowments Dad freaking out as we all tried to tickle his feet Dad helping me as I learned about my new profession as a State Farm Agent Dad hiking with me to find help after we ran out of gas in the houseboat at the Delta Dad fixing up a bathroom in Mexico at a closed down hotel we stopped at for the night Dad chasing Aunt Joan around the house during Thanksgiving Dad and I trimming the trees at Granny's house in Palo Alto Dad being my Dad...You will be missed!!! - Uncle Todd When I started dating Phil, Dad was not very sure about me. He thought Phil should date more since he had not dated a lot before then. All he knew was that I was a farm girl from Wyoming. The first thing he said when he met me was, "You didn't tell me she had freckles!" I asked if that was a good thing and he responded that it was and I knew it would all be okay. I tried to prove to him that I was good enough to marry into the family. It was fun to cook his favorite foods and find out he loved lemon meringue pie just like my own father did! He always treated me so well with much love and kindness. – heidi I always felt very close to Grandpa. I keep on thinking about all the fun times we had with him and all the wonderful meals that he made. There are so many memories I have of him, but they seem to be slipping away the more I think about them. One of the most recent ones was before my mission when he shared with Chase and me, his conversion story. That is something that I will treasure forever. It has helped me out in more ways than one, and I hope that I can share similar experiences with those that I meet. The things that I remembered most about him was how caring he was and all that he did for his family. Grandpa made sure we were all taken care of. I will miss him greatly, however, it has made my knowledge and testimony of the Plan of Salvation that much more sure. - Kory
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Eulogy
Edward William Borgia was born on August 12, 1928 in Manhattan, NYC to Nicholas Fillip Borgia and Giuseppina Marie Vita Borgia. He was their 2nd child having an older daughter Eleanor and later another daughter named Joan would join their family. Both Nick and Josie were the children of Italian immigrants and they raised their family in the Tenements in the Italian neighborhoods of New York. These tenements would be called Slums today. Not much more than a rectangular area with some walls that divided the small area into living and sleeping quarters. They always lived on the top floor of the tenements since that was cheaper than the lower, easier to get to floors. There were no elevators and they had to climb the flights of stairs to reach their home. They were not a wealthy family. Dad remembered coming home from school and going out door to door to sell the baked goods that Grandma had made that day. He delivered newspapers, delivered milk…all to supplement the family’s meager income. Dad told us of packing up and leaving in the middle of the night before they could be evicted. They moved throughout the Burroughs of New York City…Queens, Manhattan, Harlem and the Bronx. Dad vowed that when he had a family they would never live the way he had. Grandma inherited a home on Staten Island, NY from her mother and the family had a stable home at last.
Edward went to High School at Newdorp High School, Staten Island. It was there that he learned to play the trumpet with the school band using an instrument that belonged to the school. His father had hoped he would follow in his footsteps and learn to play the violin. They gave him money to go and take violin lessons but he didn’t want to play the violin and that money never found its way to the teacher’s pocketbook because Ed never showed up to take the lessons. Dad became pretty good at playing the trumpet though and spent the summer he turned 15 in the Adirondacks playing in the band at one of the resorts where the “rich people” went for vacation. Dad graduated from high school in 1945 and immediately enlisted in the Coast Guard. It was his hope to play the trumpet in their band but soon after enlisting, World War 2 ended and the band was no longer required. He stayed in the Coast Guard for 3 years during which time he went on one of Admiral Byrd’s expeditions to Antarctica. After he returned home his father contracted Rheumatic Fever. During his illness he was treated and helped by a Chiropractor and Dad became committed to that career. He researched and learned that one of the best schools was in CA and almost as important it wouldn’t have the cold winters of New York so he came out west to attend the Los Angeles Chiropractic College on the GI Bill. He graduated with his Doctorate in August of 1952, a few days after his 23rd birthday. 6 weeks later his Father succumbed to the rheumatic fever and the support of his mother and younger sister fell to him. He wanted to take them out to California so they went to visit her cousins who had already moved to Palo Alto. Remember…He hated the cold and snowy NY winters and never wanted to go back to the East to live. He was anxious to live in CA where he had enjoyed the milder weather during his years at school. So Grandma sold her home on Staten Island and they bought a small home in Palo Alto. The family lived in the back of the house and a Chiropractic office was setup in the front of the house.
About this time Edward decided it was time to settle down and mentioned that to a friend of his that he met at the YMCA. His friend told him about a Young Adult Group at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church called “The Kayaks”. Through this group the friend had met an amazing girl from New York who was a Kindergarten teacher. Her name was Shirley Smith and he was thinking of pursuing a more serious relationship. He invited Ed along so that maybe he could do the same….and Ed did…exactly the same and the amazing girl, Shirley and Ed were married Nov 27, 1954. In April of 1956 Ed and Shirley became parents of their first child, Sheri and then Philip joined the family 2 years later. At this time Ed was frustrated with the church they were attending and had talked with one of his patients about the church he belonged to…the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS. He liked what he heard and asked the patient if he could talk to someone to learn more about the church. Well, Dad waited and waited and no one contacted him. Then one day there was a knock at the door and when Mom opened the door 2 Mormon missionaries were on the doorstep. She explained that she was perfectly happy with her church but that her husband was interested in hearing more about the Mormon Church so could they please come back? Of course they did and the family joined the church on Sept. 6, 1958, (My Grandmother never could understand what kind of a church would tell you that you couldn’t have wine with dinner, not even a little sip…remember she was a full blooded Italian). 14 month after their baptism Todd joined our family and 10 months later our family of 5 was sealed together for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles Temple. In 1961 Scott was born and I remember Dad coming in to wake me up to tell me that the baby had arrived and I was extremely disappointed that it was a 3rd brother.
Shortly after Scott’s birth our family moved up to the Sacramento area where Dad and a partner had opened a Chiropractic office in Auburn, CA. We lived in Fair Oaks…about a 30 minute drive to the office. After 2 years the commute became too much for Dad and so we moved to a small town called Meadow Vista. Alas the partnership wasn’t working out too well and then, that winter it snowed in Meadow Vista, CALIFORNIA. So 7 months after we moved in we moved out and went back to the Bay Area, to a small unknown town called Sunnyvale. 5 months later, Tammy was born and our family was complete.
While we were up north Dad had been asked to be an expert witness in some personal injury lawsuits. Dad realized that these injured people were being under-represented due to their attorney’s lack of medical knowledge so he started attending McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento with plans to become an Attorney.. He hadn’t finished school when he decided to go back to the Bay Area so he needed to find a way to support his family in the meantime. He went to visit the Chiropractor that he had sold his practice to. The Dr. reminded him that part of the sales contract was a no compete clause which prohibited Dad from practicing in the area. As Dad left the office he walked down the street and walked by a State Farm Insurance Office. He glanced in the office and saw a former Stake Missionary companion sitting at the front desk. This man was an engineer…why was he in an insurance agency? Dad went in to talk to Brother Folsom and learned that he was in training to be an Insurance Agent. Well Dad had been encouraged by a Career Counselor at the Law School to look for a job in sales…Real Estate, Insurance, etc….where he could build up a network of people as a foundation for his new career in law. So Brother Folsom introduced Dad to his manager and Dad was hired. That was a very good move for Dad and he was very successful. He continued to attend law school and build his insurance agency at the same time. In 1967 he graduated from Lincoln University in San Francisco. A year later he passed the bar on his second attempt and joined the Law Firm of Kubby, Pritchard and Cohen as a personal injury attorney. Dad loved the practice of law…he once told me it was his favorite occupation.
In 1976 Ed and Shirley became Grandparents when the first of their 24 grandchildren was born. Later that year State Farm approached Dad and offered him an Executive Leadership Position with the company. Dad wasn’t really interested in leaving law but “no fault” insurance had just been implemented in California and Dad was concerned about what that would mean to his specialty of Personal Injury. So Ed accepted the position with State Farm Insurance. Soon afterwards State Farm held a seminar in the Clear Lake area. One of the activities was a golf tournament. Dad didn’t play golf so instead he found a local realtor and asked him to show him some investment properties in the area. That was when he found Lakeport Lagoons, a Mobile Home Park or a Manufactured Home Community as they are now referred to in the industry. Lakeport Lagoons became the first purchase in a line of successful investments in Manufactured Home Communities which has become our family business. Dad loved Lakeport and so, in 1978, after 14 years in the same house on Cathedral Dr. in Sunnyvale the family moved to Lakeport on Clear Lake and Dad oversaw a group of State Farm Agents in the Napa Valley. They lived there for 3 years before Dad accepted the management of a group of agents in the Monterey Area and he, Shirley and Tammy moved to Pebble Beach.
One morning in the summer of 1987 Dad woke up with double vision. Visits to Doctors revealed what they thought could possibly be a tumor and they scheduled surgery to remove it if possible. It was discovered that it was NOT a tumor and the surgery didn’t correct the situation which eventually went away on its own but the surgery did lead to years of seizures. The seizures meant that Dad couldn’t drive and so he retired from State Farm. By this time Ed and Shirley had an empty nest and were living in Carmel Valley. In 1989 they received a call from Herb and Dorothy Wilkinson who had lived down the street from us in Sunnyvale. They had been in our ward and their children had been our friends and they had stayed in touch over the years. The Wilkinsons told my parents that they were thinking of moving to Southern California to retire and why didn’t Mom and Dad come join them and see if it would interest them too. When Dad drove into Ocean Hills Country Club and saw a sign recruiting members for a Swing band he knew he had found his new home. All those years after enlisting in the Coast Guard to be in the band he was finally able to dust off his trumpet (which we rarely heard him play as we were growing up) and join not only the Swing Band but also the Dixieland Jazz Band. The fact that they had Bocce Ball courts, a game from his youth in the Italian neighborhoods of New York, was the whipped cream on the cannoli!
Mom and Dad settled into their new home. Dad loved the climate of Oceanside, about one hour north of San Diego. He told us it was always 70 degrees there. Their home was on the golf course and Dad quickly became a golf addict. We chuckled at the irony that he never played golf when he lived in Pebble Beach, home to some of the most spectacular golf courses in the World.
In 1996 Mom and Dad were called to serve in the Rochester, NY mission in upper state New York. This would allow Mom to be close to her mother who was living in a Nursing Home close-by. My Mom’s brother commented that there must be something special about this church if Ed was willing to come back to New York for the winter. But the Lord was watching over Dad and that winter was one of the mildest winters they ever had.
In August of 1999 Ed and Shirley became Great Grandparents when their first of 30 great grandchildren was born.
In 2004 Ed and Shirley celebrated their 50th anniversary on a Caribbean Cruise with their 5 children and our spouses. That was such a fun week…I’m so glad we have that memory of being together that week. We are a close family and we have enjoyed annual reunions established by Dad back in 1984. Family was the most important thing to Dad…La Familia as he called it. I am still impressed by his devotion to his mother over the years. It was always important to him that we remembered we were the Borgia family and as a result we developed a strong loyalty to each other.
In Sept of 2009 Dad had abdominal pain which led to surgery for an intestinal resection. It was a hard recovery requiring a second surgery when complications set in. So when he needed another surgery on Thanksgiving this year we all held our breaths. We were comforted a little when we learned that this time the pain was caused by his gall bladder which would need removing. I knew people who had had this surgery lapriscopically and been back at work the next week. But it was discovered that Dad’s gall bladder was actually gangrene and had started to poison his body. They removed what they could and started antibiotics to fight the infection that resulted. Once again a second surgery would be needed in an attempt to stop the infection which was killing him. We were hopeful but then the infection took hold again and on Dec 12th we were told that we weren’t going to win this battle. Dad drifted away from us by 3:13 that afternoon.
We are comforted by the knowledge that the family of his childhood, all of which preceded him from this earth is together again. He also has a granddaughter, Chelsi Ricksecker and a Great Grandson, Cameron Kitchen with him waiting for the rest of us to finish our turns on earth. His spirit and body may have gone from us but he is still with us. He is here in memories of Saturday mornings with Sourdough Pancakes. He will be here with our annual family reunions which will continue as he would want. He is remembered in the Italian Foods he loves so much: Homemade Ravioli’s, Pizza, Zippolis and Spheenchies (all of which Grandma had ready for him when he arrived I’m sure). He is remembered for Golf Weekends and Educational Trusts and Manufactured Home Communities…all the things that left his fingerprints all over our lives. All of you have memories of our Father, our Grandfather, our Uncle, your friend. Those memories will keep him alive and will comfort us with the sweet peace the Gospel brings.
We love you Dad. We will be sure Mom is taken care of just as we watched you care for your mother when your Father passed away. You’ve taught us well and most important you gave us the gospel which gives us the knowledge that we will be together again as a family.
Edward went to High School at Newdorp High School, Staten Island. It was there that he learned to play the trumpet with the school band using an instrument that belonged to the school. His father had hoped he would follow in his footsteps and learn to play the violin. They gave him money to go and take violin lessons but he didn’t want to play the violin and that money never found its way to the teacher’s pocketbook because Ed never showed up to take the lessons. Dad became pretty good at playing the trumpet though and spent the summer he turned 15 in the Adirondacks playing in the band at one of the resorts where the “rich people” went for vacation. Dad graduated from high school in 1945 and immediately enlisted in the Coast Guard. It was his hope to play the trumpet in their band but soon after enlisting, World War 2 ended and the band was no longer required. He stayed in the Coast Guard for 3 years during which time he went on one of Admiral Byrd’s expeditions to Antarctica. After he returned home his father contracted Rheumatic Fever. During his illness he was treated and helped by a Chiropractor and Dad became committed to that career. He researched and learned that one of the best schools was in CA and almost as important it wouldn’t have the cold winters of New York so he came out west to attend the Los Angeles Chiropractic College on the GI Bill. He graduated with his Doctorate in August of 1952, a few days after his 23rd birthday. 6 weeks later his Father succumbed to the rheumatic fever and the support of his mother and younger sister fell to him. He wanted to take them out to California so they went to visit her cousins who had already moved to Palo Alto. Remember…He hated the cold and snowy NY winters and never wanted to go back to the East to live. He was anxious to live in CA where he had enjoyed the milder weather during his years at school. So Grandma sold her home on Staten Island and they bought a small home in Palo Alto. The family lived in the back of the house and a Chiropractic office was setup in the front of the house.
About this time Edward decided it was time to settle down and mentioned that to a friend of his that he met at the YMCA. His friend told him about a Young Adult Group at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church called “The Kayaks”. Through this group the friend had met an amazing girl from New York who was a Kindergarten teacher. Her name was Shirley Smith and he was thinking of pursuing a more serious relationship. He invited Ed along so that maybe he could do the same….and Ed did…exactly the same and the amazing girl, Shirley and Ed were married Nov 27, 1954. In April of 1956 Ed and Shirley became parents of their first child, Sheri and then Philip joined the family 2 years later. At this time Ed was frustrated with the church they were attending and had talked with one of his patients about the church he belonged to…the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS. He liked what he heard and asked the patient if he could talk to someone to learn more about the church. Well, Dad waited and waited and no one contacted him. Then one day there was a knock at the door and when Mom opened the door 2 Mormon missionaries were on the doorstep. She explained that she was perfectly happy with her church but that her husband was interested in hearing more about the Mormon Church so could they please come back? Of course they did and the family joined the church on Sept. 6, 1958, (My Grandmother never could understand what kind of a church would tell you that you couldn’t have wine with dinner, not even a little sip…remember she was a full blooded Italian). 14 month after their baptism Todd joined our family and 10 months later our family of 5 was sealed together for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles Temple. In 1961 Scott was born and I remember Dad coming in to wake me up to tell me that the baby had arrived and I was extremely disappointed that it was a 3rd brother.
Shortly after Scott’s birth our family moved up to the Sacramento area where Dad and a partner had opened a Chiropractic office in Auburn, CA. We lived in Fair Oaks…about a 30 minute drive to the office. After 2 years the commute became too much for Dad and so we moved to a small town called Meadow Vista. Alas the partnership wasn’t working out too well and then, that winter it snowed in Meadow Vista, CALIFORNIA. So 7 months after we moved in we moved out and went back to the Bay Area, to a small unknown town called Sunnyvale. 5 months later, Tammy was born and our family was complete.
While we were up north Dad had been asked to be an expert witness in some personal injury lawsuits. Dad realized that these injured people were being under-represented due to their attorney’s lack of medical knowledge so he started attending McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento with plans to become an Attorney.. He hadn’t finished school when he decided to go back to the Bay Area so he needed to find a way to support his family in the meantime. He went to visit the Chiropractor that he had sold his practice to. The Dr. reminded him that part of the sales contract was a no compete clause which prohibited Dad from practicing in the area. As Dad left the office he walked down the street and walked by a State Farm Insurance Office. He glanced in the office and saw a former Stake Missionary companion sitting at the front desk. This man was an engineer…why was he in an insurance agency? Dad went in to talk to Brother Folsom and learned that he was in training to be an Insurance Agent. Well Dad had been encouraged by a Career Counselor at the Law School to look for a job in sales…Real Estate, Insurance, etc….where he could build up a network of people as a foundation for his new career in law. So Brother Folsom introduced Dad to his manager and Dad was hired. That was a very good move for Dad and he was very successful. He continued to attend law school and build his insurance agency at the same time. In 1967 he graduated from Lincoln University in San Francisco. A year later he passed the bar on his second attempt and joined the Law Firm of Kubby, Pritchard and Cohen as a personal injury attorney. Dad loved the practice of law…he once told me it was his favorite occupation.
In 1976 Ed and Shirley became Grandparents when the first of their 24 grandchildren was born. Later that year State Farm approached Dad and offered him an Executive Leadership Position with the company. Dad wasn’t really interested in leaving law but “no fault” insurance had just been implemented in California and Dad was concerned about what that would mean to his specialty of Personal Injury. So Ed accepted the position with State Farm Insurance. Soon afterwards State Farm held a seminar in the Clear Lake area. One of the activities was a golf tournament. Dad didn’t play golf so instead he found a local realtor and asked him to show him some investment properties in the area. That was when he found Lakeport Lagoons, a Mobile Home Park or a Manufactured Home Community as they are now referred to in the industry. Lakeport Lagoons became the first purchase in a line of successful investments in Manufactured Home Communities which has become our family business. Dad loved Lakeport and so, in 1978, after 14 years in the same house on Cathedral Dr. in Sunnyvale the family moved to Lakeport on Clear Lake and Dad oversaw a group of State Farm Agents in the Napa Valley. They lived there for 3 years before Dad accepted the management of a group of agents in the Monterey Area and he, Shirley and Tammy moved to Pebble Beach.
One morning in the summer of 1987 Dad woke up with double vision. Visits to Doctors revealed what they thought could possibly be a tumor and they scheduled surgery to remove it if possible. It was discovered that it was NOT a tumor and the surgery didn’t correct the situation which eventually went away on its own but the surgery did lead to years of seizures. The seizures meant that Dad couldn’t drive and so he retired from State Farm. By this time Ed and Shirley had an empty nest and were living in Carmel Valley. In 1989 they received a call from Herb and Dorothy Wilkinson who had lived down the street from us in Sunnyvale. They had been in our ward and their children had been our friends and they had stayed in touch over the years. The Wilkinsons told my parents that they were thinking of moving to Southern California to retire and why didn’t Mom and Dad come join them and see if it would interest them too. When Dad drove into Ocean Hills Country Club and saw a sign recruiting members for a Swing band he knew he had found his new home. All those years after enlisting in the Coast Guard to be in the band he was finally able to dust off his trumpet (which we rarely heard him play as we were growing up) and join not only the Swing Band but also the Dixieland Jazz Band. The fact that they had Bocce Ball courts, a game from his youth in the Italian neighborhoods of New York, was the whipped cream on the cannoli!
Mom and Dad settled into their new home. Dad loved the climate of Oceanside, about one hour north of San Diego. He told us it was always 70 degrees there. Their home was on the golf course and Dad quickly became a golf addict. We chuckled at the irony that he never played golf when he lived in Pebble Beach, home to some of the most spectacular golf courses in the World.
In 1996 Mom and Dad were called to serve in the Rochester, NY mission in upper state New York. This would allow Mom to be close to her mother who was living in a Nursing Home close-by. My Mom’s brother commented that there must be something special about this church if Ed was willing to come back to New York for the winter. But the Lord was watching over Dad and that winter was one of the mildest winters they ever had.
In August of 1999 Ed and Shirley became Great Grandparents when their first of 30 great grandchildren was born.
In 2004 Ed and Shirley celebrated their 50th anniversary on a Caribbean Cruise with their 5 children and our spouses. That was such a fun week…I’m so glad we have that memory of being together that week. We are a close family and we have enjoyed annual reunions established by Dad back in 1984. Family was the most important thing to Dad…La Familia as he called it. I am still impressed by his devotion to his mother over the years. It was always important to him that we remembered we were the Borgia family and as a result we developed a strong loyalty to each other.
In Sept of 2009 Dad had abdominal pain which led to surgery for an intestinal resection. It was a hard recovery requiring a second surgery when complications set in. So when he needed another surgery on Thanksgiving this year we all held our breaths. We were comforted a little when we learned that this time the pain was caused by his gall bladder which would need removing. I knew people who had had this surgery lapriscopically and been back at work the next week. But it was discovered that Dad’s gall bladder was actually gangrene and had started to poison his body. They removed what they could and started antibiotics to fight the infection that resulted. Once again a second surgery would be needed in an attempt to stop the infection which was killing him. We were hopeful but then the infection took hold again and on Dec 12th we were told that we weren’t going to win this battle. Dad drifted away from us by 3:13 that afternoon.
We are comforted by the knowledge that the family of his childhood, all of which preceded him from this earth is together again. He also has a granddaughter, Chelsi Ricksecker and a Great Grandson, Cameron Kitchen with him waiting for the rest of us to finish our turns on earth. His spirit and body may have gone from us but he is still with us. He is here in memories of Saturday mornings with Sourdough Pancakes. He will be here with our annual family reunions which will continue as he would want. He is remembered in the Italian Foods he loves so much: Homemade Ravioli’s, Pizza, Zippolis and Spheenchies (all of which Grandma had ready for him when he arrived I’m sure). He is remembered for Golf Weekends and Educational Trusts and Manufactured Home Communities…all the things that left his fingerprints all over our lives. All of you have memories of our Father, our Grandfather, our Uncle, your friend. Those memories will keep him alive and will comfort us with the sweet peace the Gospel brings.
We love you Dad. We will be sure Mom is taken care of just as we watched you care for your mother when your Father passed away. You’ve taught us well and most important you gave us the gospel which gives us the knowledge that we will be together again as a family.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Testimony
by Elder Edward W. Borgia
I met my wife Shirley, at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, California in the summer of 1954. We were married in the same church on November 27, 1954 and attended services regularly every Sunday. Somehow, by the time we had our first child, Sheri, I felt there was something lacking in our religious life. In browsing through our bookshelf one day, I came across a book entitled, "What About The Mormons ." As I browsed through the book, I was very impressed by the fact that the members of the church built their own Chapels, engaged in various welfare projects to stock the Bishop's storehouses, which are used to take care of their needy, who in turn gave service, and that every one in the ward served without compensation, including the Bishop. Upon reading further, it was easy to see that the members of the church lived their religion twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. I must admit, that when I read about tithing, I admired them for doing it, but I knew I never could. I put the book away and gave what I had read no more thought at that time.
I practiced in Palo Alto, California, as a Doctor of Chiropractic during this period. Shortly after the above experience, a new patient, as I was obtaining her medical history and complaints, told me she was a Mormon when I inquired about coffee consumption. Still curious, I chatted with her about the Church and finally asked her to have missionaries come to my home, as I had a desire to learn more. After a delay of several months, two young Elders came to our home, Elders Stringham and Steiner. At that time, they gave us the first discussion, in which they related to us the Joseph Smith story and explained the Godhead, frequently bearing their testimony concerning the truthfulness of what they had just told us. They gave us a Book of Mormon, and assigned scriptures to read. They then asked us to kneel and pray, which we managed to do after overcoming the initial shock of the
request. Afterwords, upon learning that thousands of these young Mormon people take two years of their lives to voluntarily preach the Gospel at their own expense, for no reason other that a deep conviction of their faith, I was even more impressed and I knew I had to learn more about this church.
Upon reading the assigned scriptures in the weeks that followed, I was convinced that the Book of Mormon was indeed scripture. I could not conceive how even the most learned and articulate academian could invent such a complex writing, much less a person with a minimal grammar school education of three sessions such as Joseph Smith had had. Therefore, by accepting the Book of Mormon as scripture, I gained a testimony of the Bible and of Jesus Christ, for though I had always manifested a belief in God, I never thought of Christ as anything but an interesting character in a book of interesting stories, handed down from generation to generation. However, upon reading about Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon and learning that the prophecies therein concerning the Savior were identical to those in the Bible, I could not dismiss this to coincidence when written at a time that knowledge of the existence of other peoples elsewhere in the world was unknown and communication therefore nonexistent. The Book of Mormon was indeed, my second witness of Jesus Christ.
Though I now had obtained a testimony of Jesus Christ, I still did not have a testimony of Joseph Smith. I have always been a skeptic and his story seemed somewhat bizarre to me. This may seem like a contradiction since I had accepted the Book of Mormon, however, a latter-day Prophet was still difficult for me to accept. One day, as we were to meet with the Elders for the fourth discussion in an hour, I sat down to review the Scriptures we were to read for this meeting. I said a silent prayer, and told the Lord I was having this problem concerning Joseph Smith and asked for His help to learn of the truth thereof. I then relaxed my grip of the Book of Mormon and it fell open. My eyes looked upon the page and I immediately read the following: "and the plates
shall be delivered to a boy whose name is Joseph." Now this definitely startled me having just prayed to the Lord for help on this very point! I knew this was his answer to my prayer and I now knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and had translated the plates as he so testified. I shared this with my wife and related to her my experience and told her I was ready for baptism. My wife, who had always had a testimony of Jesus Christ and who was quite content with our present church, did not share this testimony with me. Later, when we met the Elders, I told them of what had happened, but I could not show them, as I did not think to save the page where I had read about the plates or note the particular book I had read this in. After all, it was part of the Book of Mormon and I could always find it later. The Elders, at that moment couldn't recall where this scripture would be found either. Two weeks later, my wife greeted me at breakfast with a glow about her and a smile, stating she had received a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We were both baptized on September 6, 1958.
I have shared this experience at times with other members of the Church. I occasionally would ask if they knew where I could find this particular scripture, but they were indifferent about it and offered no help, so I would forget about it. I would read the Book of Mormon in various areas to coincide with Sunday School and priesthood lessons or missionary efforts, but at the time, never continuously cover to cover. I just knew what I had read was there someplace and that I would find it sometime. It was not a priority of mine and I knew of no reason why it should be.
Professionally, as a Chiropractic physician, I decided to take advanced education and spent two years in orthopedic training. My practice, now with an emphasis in orthopedics, led me to the courtroom on many occasions testifying as an expert witness. This sparked an interest in law and I subsequently matriculated in law school. Five years later, upon graduation with a doctorate in law and upon passing the California bar, I practiced law, specializing in the medical malpractice
and accident field. As an attorney, proof was extremely vital to my law practice and it pervaded my thoughts daily as I constantly interviewed witnesses, and read medical reports in preparation for depositions or trial. One day, the subject of my experience with the Joseph Smith story arose and with my new, legal standards for proof driving me on, I started a relentless search for this evasive scripture which I wanted to share with others. I exhausted the concordance, the topical index, the dictionary and finally I did a computer search on every word I had read. Only then, after finding nothing, did the full realization come to me of what had occurred that night when I had prayed to the Lord asking for His help. The Lord had answered me by giving me my own personal scripture to read! No wonder I had never been able to find this scripture. It did not exist, except for that brief moment, when the Lord had answered my prayer ! I was overwhelmed, yet, reluctant to tell about my discovery because of the obvious supernatural implications involved.
As I said previously, I am a skeptic. My legal training exacerbated this skepticism. But I knew what I had read. This was no fantasy, no invention of my mind, no figment of my imagination. I am a well educated person and not in the least gullible I cannot deny what I had seen and read, no more than the witnesses to the Book of Mormon could deny what they had seen. Previous to the realization of what had occurred the night of my prayer, I had a testimony of the Gospel through the Spirit, but now I knew with an absolute surety, that the Gospel was true, that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and Savior, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, through whom the Book of Mormon was translated, restoring Christ's Church to the earth with its full authority. Further, I know that the Church is led today by a prophet of God.
This then is my testimony which I wish to share with whomever reads this, particularly my wife, my children and grandchildren whom I love very much. The Gospel has given our family a path that we are able to
follow in life. I know why we hove been placed on this earth and what I must do to live with the Lord again when my time on earth is over. I know that my marriage is eternal as is our family organization, as long as we are true to His teachings and follow His commandments.
I give this testimony humbly in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
DATED: October 22. 1996
Elder Edward W. Borgia
I met my wife Shirley, at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, California in the summer of 1954. We were married in the same church on November 27, 1954 and attended services regularly every Sunday. Somehow, by the time we had our first child, Sheri, I felt there was something lacking in our religious life. In browsing through our bookshelf one day, I came across a book entitled, "What About The Mormons ." As I browsed through the book, I was very impressed by the fact that the members of the church built their own Chapels, engaged in various welfare projects to stock the Bishop's storehouses, which are used to take care of their needy, who in turn gave service, and that every one in the ward served without compensation, including the Bishop. Upon reading further, it was easy to see that the members of the church lived their religion twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. I must admit, that when I read about tithing, I admired them for doing it, but I knew I never could. I put the book away and gave what I had read no more thought at that time.
I practiced in Palo Alto, California, as a Doctor of Chiropractic during this period. Shortly after the above experience, a new patient, as I was obtaining her medical history and complaints, told me she was a Mormon when I inquired about coffee consumption. Still curious, I chatted with her about the Church and finally asked her to have missionaries come to my home, as I had a desire to learn more. After a delay of several months, two young Elders came to our home, Elders Stringham and Steiner. At that time, they gave us the first discussion, in which they related to us the Joseph Smith story and explained the Godhead, frequently bearing their testimony concerning the truthfulness of what they had just told us. They gave us a Book of Mormon, and assigned scriptures to read. They then asked us to kneel and pray, which we managed to do after overcoming the initial shock of the
request. Afterwords, upon learning that thousands of these young Mormon people take two years of their lives to voluntarily preach the Gospel at their own expense, for no reason other that a deep conviction of their faith, I was even more impressed and I knew I had to learn more about this church.
Upon reading the assigned scriptures in the weeks that followed, I was convinced that the Book of Mormon was indeed scripture. I could not conceive how even the most learned and articulate academian could invent such a complex writing, much less a person with a minimal grammar school education of three sessions such as Joseph Smith had had. Therefore, by accepting the Book of Mormon as scripture, I gained a testimony of the Bible and of Jesus Christ, for though I had always manifested a belief in God, I never thought of Christ as anything but an interesting character in a book of interesting stories, handed down from generation to generation. However, upon reading about Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon and learning that the prophecies therein concerning the Savior were identical to those in the Bible, I could not dismiss this to coincidence when written at a time that knowledge of the existence of other peoples elsewhere in the world was unknown and communication therefore nonexistent. The Book of Mormon was indeed, my second witness of Jesus Christ.
Though I now had obtained a testimony of Jesus Christ, I still did not have a testimony of Joseph Smith. I have always been a skeptic and his story seemed somewhat bizarre to me. This may seem like a contradiction since I had accepted the Book of Mormon, however, a latter-day Prophet was still difficult for me to accept. One day, as we were to meet with the Elders for the fourth discussion in an hour, I sat down to review the Scriptures we were to read for this meeting. I said a silent prayer, and told the Lord I was having this problem concerning Joseph Smith and asked for His help to learn of the truth thereof. I then relaxed my grip of the Book of Mormon and it fell open. My eyes looked upon the page and I immediately read the following: "and the plates
shall be delivered to a boy whose name is Joseph." Now this definitely startled me having just prayed to the Lord for help on this very point! I knew this was his answer to my prayer and I now knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and had translated the plates as he so testified. I shared this with my wife and related to her my experience and told her I was ready for baptism. My wife, who had always had a testimony of Jesus Christ and who was quite content with our present church, did not share this testimony with me. Later, when we met the Elders, I told them of what had happened, but I could not show them, as I did not think to save the page where I had read about the plates or note the particular book I had read this in. After all, it was part of the Book of Mormon and I could always find it later. The Elders, at that moment couldn't recall where this scripture would be found either. Two weeks later, my wife greeted me at breakfast with a glow about her and a smile, stating she had received a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. We were both baptized on September 6, 1958.
I have shared this experience at times with other members of the Church. I occasionally would ask if they knew where I could find this particular scripture, but they were indifferent about it and offered no help, so I would forget about it. I would read the Book of Mormon in various areas to coincide with Sunday School and priesthood lessons or missionary efforts, but at the time, never continuously cover to cover. I just knew what I had read was there someplace and that I would find it sometime. It was not a priority of mine and I knew of no reason why it should be.
Professionally, as a Chiropractic physician, I decided to take advanced education and spent two years in orthopedic training. My practice, now with an emphasis in orthopedics, led me to the courtroom on many occasions testifying as an expert witness. This sparked an interest in law and I subsequently matriculated in law school. Five years later, upon graduation with a doctorate in law and upon passing the California bar, I practiced law, specializing in the medical malpractice
and accident field. As an attorney, proof was extremely vital to my law practice and it pervaded my thoughts daily as I constantly interviewed witnesses, and read medical reports in preparation for depositions or trial. One day, the subject of my experience with the Joseph Smith story arose and with my new, legal standards for proof driving me on, I started a relentless search for this evasive scripture which I wanted to share with others. I exhausted the concordance, the topical index, the dictionary and finally I did a computer search on every word I had read. Only then, after finding nothing, did the full realization come to me of what had occurred that night when I had prayed to the Lord asking for His help. The Lord had answered me by giving me my own personal scripture to read! No wonder I had never been able to find this scripture. It did not exist, except for that brief moment, when the Lord had answered my prayer ! I was overwhelmed, yet, reluctant to tell about my discovery because of the obvious supernatural implications involved.
As I said previously, I am a skeptic. My legal training exacerbated this skepticism. But I knew what I had read. This was no fantasy, no invention of my mind, no figment of my imagination. I am a well educated person and not in the least gullible I cannot deny what I had seen and read, no more than the witnesses to the Book of Mormon could deny what they had seen. Previous to the realization of what had occurred the night of my prayer, I had a testimony of the Gospel through the Spirit, but now I knew with an absolute surety, that the Gospel was true, that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and Savior, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, through whom the Book of Mormon was translated, restoring Christ's Church to the earth with its full authority. Further, I know that the Church is led today by a prophet of God.
This then is my testimony which I wish to share with whomever reads this, particularly my wife, my children and grandchildren whom I love very much. The Gospel has given our family a path that we are able to
follow in life. I know why we hove been placed on this earth and what I must do to live with the Lord again when my time on earth is over. I know that my marriage is eternal as is our family organization, as long as we are true to His teachings and follow His commandments.
I give this testimony humbly in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
DATED: October 22. 1996
Elder Edward W. Borgia
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