Ernest Borden

1939 - 2026

Ernest (Ernie) Carleton Borden, 86, of Madison, died on January 18, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Louise, to whom he had been married for 58 years. He is also survived by his daughters Kristin Kraus and Sandra Pickhardt, son-in-law Peter Pickhardt, grandchildren Eliot, Jocelyn, and Maya Pickhardt, and brother Richard (Sue Lobland). He is further survived by other family and friends around the world. He was preceded in death by son-in-law Peter Kraus.

Ernest was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, to Violet and Joseph Carleton Borden Jr. His family moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he graduated from high school. In 1957, Ernie boarded a train to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended Harvard University. He was a 4-year member of the Harvard rowing team and graduated in 1961. After graduation, he taught for a year at Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, before enrolling at Duke University Medical School. He graduated with an MD in 1966 and completed his internship there a year later. While at Duke he met Louise, and they married at the Duke Chapel in 1967. Ernest completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania before serving in the U.S. Public Health Service at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. After his service, he completed a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1973, Ernest was hired as the second boarded medical oncologist faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was recruited to work at the newly designated National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center, which later became the Carbone Cancer Center. His pioneering investigations in immunology and immunotherapy, examining the therapeutic potential of interferons in cancer treatment, were featured in prominent media outlets including Time Magazine and US News and World Report. Ernest strongly believed in the importance of medical research as a counterpart to clinical care. Throughout his career, his motto was "bench to bedside," linking his research to the care of patients in his clinics. He helped found the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, a leading international organization of immunotherapy investigators, serving as the organization's president from 1986 to 1988.

Ernie left UW-Madison in 1990 to take a position as the director of the Cancer Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he served for 4 years before moving back to Baltimore to lead the Cancer Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In 1998, Ernie was offered a new position at the Taussig Cancer Center of the Cleveland Clinic/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio, where he served until his retirement in 2013. Upon retirement, he was named Professor Emeritus at both the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Wisconsin. Ernie's lasting legacy is the groundwork he laid for critical advances in immunotherapy for treating sarcoma and melanoma.

Throughout his career, Ernest traveled around the world to attend conferences of national and international medical organizations and from these experiences grew his love of travel. Ernest and Louise visited more than 70 countries together. He enjoyed planning travels for them and various family and friends to see the far corners of the world. Ernest's passion for travel and his enthusiasm for learning will live on in his children and grandchildren.

In their early years in Madison, Ernest and his family lived on Camelot Drive, a neighborhood as special as its name, where he cohosted New Year's Eve celebrations and played basketball during 4th of July block parties. He taught himself to sail on Lake Mendota, a skill he practiced further at the rustic family cabin in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, where he introduced cheese and crackers with cocktails, phone service, and solar power, the latter two in part because he was rarely "on vacation." He was our beloved husband, dad, and granddaddy.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Meadows Assisted Living at Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge for their dedicated care of Ernest the past 3 years. A memorial service will be held February 21, 2026, 2:00 p.m., in the chapel at Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge. Ernest was always focused on helping young investigators starting their careers; therefore, in lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the UW CCC Borden Immunology Initiative, UW Foundation, 1848 University Ave, Madison, WI 53726-4090, or a charity of your choice.