My dad & SWHS

The Borton Kids circa 1953(?). From top l-r: Mary, John, Bill, Jane, Fred. Birth order (in 10 years) Mary, John, Jane, Fred, Bill.

My dad on my wedding day. He shaved his mustache not long before the big day, I had NEVER seen him without it in my life (at least I don't recall). Oh, and I had NEVER seen this man in a suit before this day, let alone a tuxedo.

Last night I was searching for my Great Aunt Beth's Obituary (weird? No, she lived in Mexico and was a award winning author, and I wanted to know more). All of the sudden my dad's name pops up in the search engine.

So of course I click on the link, and come to find out that every year at my high schools big track invitational (the Carl Westling Memorial, he was our track/cross country coach for YEARS), the biggest relay race, the boys 1600M relay is called the Bill Borton Memorial (my dad was the custodian at the HS, as well as the Middle school and Intermediate school through the years and was a huge supporter of the sports and band programs. He always did "extra" to help ensure that the kids activity was ready and had a little special touch. And he was always on the sidelines or in the audience encouraging them).

I emailed the track coach and just told him how it made my day to see that my dad was somehow immortalized and his memory is living on in the place that he loved. The coach emailed me back, telling me it was his honor, and recounted a fond memory he has of my dad. I know it's small, but it makes me so proud to know that my dad's name is hanging on people's wall. "The Bill Borton Memorial".