Geraldine Connors Doherty

1932 - 2020

Geraldine "Geri" Connors Doherty
October 22, 1933 - May 6, 2020
Geri was born in 1932 at home during the Great Depression, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Her parents, Thomas and Hannah Connors, were Irish immigrants who met and married in Butte, Montana in 1918. Tragically, five of Geri's older siblings died in childhood, although the oldest, her sister Mary, did not. Geri had a good childhood and doting parents. She recounted that she did not realize they were poor, because she was greatly loved.
After high school she worked for the telephone company in Chicago, before her marriage to Richard Borrowdale in 1956. They had two children, Rick and Deborah. Geri took great pride in her son the doctor and her daughter the lawyer. In 1974 Geri married Thomas Doherty. They enjoyed twenty-five years together, and he was a devoted husband. In retirement they moved from Chicago to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Later they moved to Indianapolis, and then in 1997 to Boise, where she resided until her death. Geri made many close friends in Chicago, Arkansas and Boise. She loved Boise the most and enjoyed her wonderful view of the foothills.
Geri was a wickedly good bridge player and enjoyed winning the game her entire adult life. She was a ferocious reader of mystery novels with no interest in television.
She was a finicky eater with a notorious sweet tooth. She never met a fresh fruit or green vegetable she liked. She was a semi- pro thrift store shopper with a stylish wardrobe and condo she curated from frequent hunts to her favorite spots. She was friendly and outgoing, and made friends easily. Geri genuinely enjoyed people. She harbored little prejudice or judgments. She was quick to be kind and laughed easily.
She left assisted living in mid-March to live with her daughter and son-in-law once the pandemic virus arrived in Idaho. She was completely surprised by a diagnosis of leukemia six weeks later and began hospice in her daughter's home. When she met her hospice nurse for the first time she said with a smile "I had no idea I was dying! But it is okay. I've had a good life."
She leaves behind her daughter Deborah Ferguson and son in law Dr. Rick Ferguson who is owed special thanks for his kindness, patience and compassion in orchestrating her care the past 3 years; her son Dr. Rick Borrowdale and daughter in law Mary Beth Borrowdale; as well as 7 grandchildren- Johnston and Daniel Hill; Matt and Katie Ferguson; and Rick, Bridget and Liam Borrowdale, as well as the father of her children and first husband, Richard Borrowdale. She is predeceased by her parents and siblings, and her husband Thomas Doherty. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends. May she rest in peace.
Her family wishes to thank Idaho Home & Health Hospice for their wonderful support, especially her nurse Roberta and aide Jessica. A memorial service will be held at a later date when group gatherings are again possible.