Ralph Borgeson

Ralph Philip Borgeson 95, of San Rafael, passed away of natural causes on January 16, 2012. He was born April 12th, 1916, in Mill Valley, the son of late Carl and Sarah. Ralph was the middle child of 5 male siblings. On April 8th, 1939 he married Barbara Mayhood Borgeson, who survives. He attended Galileo High School and turned down a full football scholarship to UC Berkeley to enter the National Guard where he was stationed in Kodiak, Alaska. Ralph served in the Air Force as a B-25 pilot in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II and the Korean War. He was also one of the elite Flying Tiger Pilots stationed in China. After retiring from the Air Force in 1966 as a Lieutenant Colonel he joined the San Francisco Fire Department where he served for nearly two decades and continued to volunteer with the Marinwood Fire Department after his second retirement. Ralph was a devoted, benevolent, and incredibly courageous man who is survived by his wife of almost 73 years Barbara Borgeson; daughter and son, Heidee Lenzi and Philip (Gerry) Borgeson; grandchildren, Ashlee, Jessie, and Marnie; 3 great-grandchildren and countless other family members and friends whose lives he has touched over his long life. A service will be held at noon on January 24th at Monte's Chapel of the Hill in San Anselmo. Ralph will be laid to rest beside his parents at Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in his name for the American Heart Association and Hospice of the Bay.