E. Raymond Borun

June 13, 1918 - February 23, 2026 Dr. E. Raymond Borun, beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician, philanthropist, intellectual, and keen mountaineer passed away on February 23, 2026 at the remarkable age of 107.
With ancestral roots in Poland and Russia, Borun's family escaped the Jewish pogroms to emigrate to the United States in the early 1900s, where they built a life based on ingenuity and resilience. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Borun was the only son of Anna and Harry Borun and nephew of Robert Borun. In 1929, Harry and Robert co-founded Thrifty Drug Stores in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The business grew from a cut-rate retail store opened during the Great Depression into a local empire that produced the iconic Thrifty Ice Cream, which is still in production today.
Much like his father and uncle, Borun made an indelible mark on the community throughout his long life, both professionally and through his philanthropic endeavors. After graduating from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1944, Borun served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and was stationed both in the United Kingdom the South Pacific, notably caring for African American troops, who, at the time, served in segregated units. Upon his return home, he worked as a cardiologist at the then-newly established UCLA medical school and hospital for more than 25 years and served as an assistant clinical professor of medicine, specializing in cardiovascular disease.
Following his gradual transition into retirement at UCLA, shifting from full-time to part-time roles, Borun devoted his energy to a new passion: mountaineering. As a member of the Sierra Club, he climbed renowned mountains around the world, including peaks in the Himalayas, as well as Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Fuji, Mt. Whitney, and Mt. Baldy, the latter of which he summited 150 times.
Borun and his late wife, Ruth Miles Borun-a nurse, tuberculosis survivor, and avid gardener-married in 1952. Committed philanthropists, they took over the Anna and Harry Borun Foundation (founded by his parents in 1945) and the Anna and Harry Borun Center for Gerontological Research at UCLA-with a particular focus on aging and improving the lives of the elderly-where they established an endowed Chair in the Department of Gerontology. Over the years, the couple gave generously to numerous organizations, such as the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, of which they were loyal supporters since its founding in 2000, donating a naming gift of $500,000 that led to the creation of the Ruth Borun Concert Orchestra.
As avid outdoors-people, Ray and Ruth made a conscious effort to expand access to the natural world by supporting conservation initiatives, including The Wildlands Conservancy. They also established numerous scholarships to support students in need at programs at UCLA and other universities. Following Ruth's passing in 2018, Dr. Borun established internship programs at Great Dixter in the United Kingdom, Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles, and Mono Lake in Northern California in her memory.
Borun was committed to "moving forward" physically and staying intellectually engaged, to which he attributed his longevity. He hiked into his nineties, walked trails and along Ocean Avenue and the Santa Monica incline into his hundreds, and marched in his garden and on the treadmill until he no longer had the strength to stand on his own, only weeks before his passing. From his humble beginnings on Catalina Street in Hollywood, Borun said he lived by the words of Will Rogers, who emphasized the importance of staying true to oneself and being ethical and good to others.
He is survived by his three daughters: Nancy Anne Borun, Barbara Borun Smith, Amy Ruth Borun, and four grandchildren: Ellie, Rose, Julian, and Sophia.