Myron N Boroughs Jr.'s Obituary
Myron “Nelson” Boroughs, Jr., 94, passed away December 17, 2022, with the love of his life, Nancy, by his side - just two months after celebrating their 72nd wedding anniversary. Also by his side were his daughter, Dana, and his son, Terry. After fighting a valiant fight to recover from complications arising from two recent hip surgeries, our family lost its remarkable patriarch.
Born on September 18, 1928, in Kingman, Kansas, Nelson was the elder son of Myron Nelson Boroughs, Sr. and Bertie Ella (Belcher) Boroughs. Raised on a modest family farm on the outskirts of Kingman, he would often share stories of his adolescence. The one most often shared involved his petite but mighty mother, Bertie, and her love of duck hunting (a passion not shared by her son). During one outing, shotgun by her side in the front seat of the family truck and a young Nelson loaded into the back, Bertie drove purposefully into the Kingman countryside. An unexpected bump in the road caused her loaded shotgun to misfire, narrowly missing Nelson crouched in the backseat. Seeing that he was unharmed by the mishap, Bertie simply repositioned her gun barrel and continued her search for the perfect, unsuspecting duck.
After graduating from Kingman High School in 1946, Nelson enlisted in the Navy as an aviation electronics specialist. In 1949, he was granted an honorable discharge after the death of his father who drowned while attempting to cross the flooding Ninnescah River with the family’s small herd of cattle. Upon his discharge, Nelson returned to Kingman to help his mother and younger brother manage their small family farm.
Soon after his discharge, Nelson attended a party celebrating the 18th birthday of Nancy Lee Biggs. Nancy and Nelson were strangers, but thanks to a mutual friend’s introduction, that changed the night of February 12, 1950. That was the night he met the love of his life. He was captivated by her beauty, free spirit, and their shared passions. After only a three-month courtship, the two were engaged. Four months later, on October 17, 1950, they exchanged vows at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Kingman, Kansas. During the days leading to their nuptials, Nancy was repeatedly told by her father that she was too young to marry. Also voicing an opinion was one of her uncles who predicted their marriage would never last. As previously noted, October 17, 2022, Nancy and Nelson celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary.
Nancy and Nelson moved to Wichita not long after exchanging vows. It was during this time they had two children, Dana and Terry. While in Wichita, Nelson decided he needed a boat – so he proceeded to build a twelve-foot vessel in the basement of their small home. Once completed, and never doubting his homemade masterpiece would actually float, he and Nancy strategically placed an inner tube on the floor of their 12-footer – this would become their baby daughter’s home away from home as they embarked upon the first of their countless adventures.
Not much time was spent in Wichita. This young couple was ready for their next big adventure, and Dallas seemed like the perfect destination. With their two young children once again in tow, they made their move to the big city where they continued their careers in the aerospace and defense industry.
Nelson joined a predecessor company of E-Systems in 1956. After advancing through a series of division and corporate finance and contract administration positions, he was promoted to Director of Financial Controls for E-Systems Corporate (1968). Subsequent positions within the company included VP of Finance and Administration, Montek Division, Salt Lake City, UT (1975), VP and General Manager, Montek Division (1981), and President of Air Asia Company Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of E-Systems, located in Tainan, Taiwan (1984).
While pursuing their careers in Texas, Nancy and Nelson devoted week-ends to family, friends, and fun. Friday nights were date nights for the couple, and most often reserved for dancing with close friends at their favorite clubs in downtown Dallas. There, they danced their Friday nights away to Fats Domino’s ‘Blueberry Hill,’ Little Richard’s ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ and Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’. Saturdays and Sundays were reserved for Dana and Terry, and most often involved family dinners at their favorite restaurants, as well as boating and waterskiing on local lakes.
While advancing their careers in Salt Lake City, Nancy and Nelson embraced every opportunity to increase their repertoire of new adventures. Winter sports became just one more shared passion. They eventually moved to Park City where they enjoyed all that mountain living had to offer, spending their weekends downhill and cross-country skiing. This adventurous duo never hit a cross-country trail without a bottle of wine and assorted cheeses to share with friends. And when the winter snow had melted, they spent summers hiking, RVing, rafting and jeeping in the Canyonlands of Southern Utah.
As previously mentioned, Nancy and Nelson relocated to Tainan, Taiwan in 1984. Again, the couple took every opportunity to turn this assignment into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. So, after ten years of action-packed living in Utah, the couple headed to ‘the other side of the world.’ They traveled extensively while there, and spent weekends watching slabs of marine teak lumber morph into their 47’ custom sailboat. They christened it ‘Jade Dragon.’ Upon completion of their assignment in Taiwan, ‘Jade Dragon’ was shipped to Galveston, where Nelson and Nancy renewed their love of sailing.
Though raised on a Kansas farm, Nelson had become a proficient self-taught sailor and navigator, and together with his first mate, Nancy (who could not swim), sailed from Galveston to the Bahamas and Florida Keys four times over their sailing careers. They had many hair-raising, as well as funny, escapades during those years, and made life-long sailing and boating friends. Running aground (more than once), almost getting run over by a freighter in the middle of the night in the Gulf of Mexico, unwittingly flying the Texas flag upside down for an entire sailing season, and outrunning hurricanes and tropical storms were but a few of the adventures and mishaps they experienced. Together, they accumulated quite a collection of nautical flags identifying the many ports ‘Jade Dragon’ docked. Their favorite nautical flag may have been one declaring ‘It’s Happy Hour’ which they raised after each successful return to port.
In 1987, Nelson and Nancy returned home to Texas, bought a home in Rockwall, and retired early to experience their greatest adventure yet. They assumed the roles of loving, doting, engaged, proud and always supportive grandparents to their five grandchildren – Kourtny, Bonner, Grant, Collin and Meredith.
As we looked through Nelson’s personal items, we found a questionnaire completed by him for a church directory. The answers to two of the questions were particularly interesting and telling…
Favorite quotes
“The universe confounds me! I cannot imagine that such a ‘clock’ can exist without there being a Clockmaker.” (Voltaire), and “Let us read and let us dance—these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”
If I could do it all over again, I would ” …begin where I leave off.”
Nelson had a truly unique and adventuresome spirit. His humor, energy, enthusiasm, kindness, and curiosity will always be remembered. His love for his dear wife and family, as well as his many friends, will be cherished forever.
Nelson is survived by his wife of 72 years, Nancy (Biggs) Boroughs; daughter Dana (Boroughs) Cable of Dallas, TX; son and daughter-in-law Terry and Metah Boroughs of Southlake, TX; granddaughter Kourtny (Penn) and husband John Garrett and their twins, Ella and Wells of Denver, CO; grandson Collin Cable of Denver, CO; grandson Grant Boroughs of Southlake, TX; granddaughter Meredith (Boroughs) and husband Kevin Golden and their three children, Bradyn, Hannah, and baby Eliana of Ft Worth, TX; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brother Rodney, as well as his beloved grandson, Bonner Joseph Penn, whom he lovingly referred to as ‘BJ.’
A memorial service will be held in the chapel at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 5923 Royal Lane, Dallas TX, at 11:00 am on January 28, 2023.
Those who wish to remember Nelson in a special way may make gifts in his memory to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 5923 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX 75230, or a charity of their choice.
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