Richard Joseph Borries

Richard "Rick" Joseph Borries, died suddenly Saturday, November 14, 2009. He graduated from Reitz Memorial High School in 1961, attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and received his undergraduate and master degrees in education from Indiana State University. His commitment to public education led to thirty-seven years of service. His passion was improving the lives of all he served, especially the many students he touched while at Harrison High School, Central High School and as the Supervisor of Social Studies for Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC). He felt one of his greatest accomplishments was seeing his daughters attain doctoral degrees. Rick's accomplishments are too numerous to list. Through his many years of involvement in education, his goal was to inspire and engage his students. He helped found the Close-Up Program — which takes high school students to Washington, D.C. to see "firsthand" how the federal government works. Rick also supported and participated in "We the People," a constitutional law competition for high school students. Rick was a world citizen. He traveled to Japan, Washington, D.C., Korea, Latvia, and Ireland, as a representative of Evansville. He hosted foreign visitors from these same countries who were in the United States to learn about our political system. He also served as an ambassador and spokesperson for Indiana, particularly Southern Indiana. After retiring from EVSC, Rick became the Director of External Affairs for AT&T. He was instrumental in bringing the Call Center to Evansville. His passion for government led him to enter the political life to help make Evansville a better place. Rick spent 16 years as a Vanderburgh County Commissioner where he helped support and fund the building of the overpass at USI, the new Vanderburgh Auditorium, and the expansions of Lynch and Burkhardt roads. He also helped in the regional effort to attract Toyota to Southern Indiana, and was instrumental in bringing the first casino to Indiana. Rick was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Democrat Central Committee in 2007 and a Sagamore of the Wabash twice by Governors Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon. As a life-long resident of Evansville, he was committed to improving services to the community by serving on many local boards, including: Southwestern Indiana Mental Health Center, Board of Public Safety, Evansville Teacher Credit Union, United Way of Southwestern Indiana, Keep Evansville Beautiful and Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Board. At the state and national levels, he served on numerous boards including the National Council for Social Studies, Indiana State Student Assistance Commissions and Indiana Education Advisor Committee. He was a member of Nativity Catholic Church and served as a Eucharistic Minister, Cantor, and member of the Parish Council. His love for his family was unqualified. His wife of 43 years, Barb, was the love of his life. His daughters and sons-in-law were a great source of pride. He was as delighted with his grandchildren as they were with him. As an only child, he valued all his friends, especially, Edward Ziemer, Dr. Al Sartore and Larry Aiken. He is survived by his wife, Barbara (Fox); daughter, Libby (Borries) Turner, her husband, Mark, and their children, Alexandria, Nathaniel and Patrick; and daughter, Susan (Borries) Reed, her husband, Aaron, and their children, Ella and Sophia; sister-in-law, Linda Pruitt and husband, Phillip Field; brother-in-law, Larry Fox and wife, Kay. Also surviving are nieces and nephews, Angie Pruitt, Shelley Gullifor, Mary Pruitt-Pedtke, Julie Pruitt, Michael Pruitt, Brian Fox and Alicia Ryan. He was preceded in death by parents, Carl and Rose Borries. Friends may call at Ziemer Funeral Home East Chapel, 800 S. Hebron Ave., Evansville, on Monday, November 16, from 2 to 8 p.m., with a memorial service at 7:30 p.m. The funeral is Tuesday, November 17, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the funeral home and continuing at Nativity Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Donations may be made to Little Sisters of the Poor and a scholarship is being established in his name at EVSC to support Social Studies Education.