Kittie Lou Borden

I sit here on my porch in the predawn of a crisp Wyoming morning, reflecting on your life and all that you were. A hot cup of coffee warms my hands, and my lab, Luna, warms my feet as I think of the land beneath me. It was my playground as a child. I roamed these hills and dirt roads, swam in Crow Creek, and camped in the little grove of aspen we all love, better known as “The Trees.” A lot of roots are planted here. You and Dad raised me here, nurtured me, wrapped me in love, and gave me an idyllic childhood. I want to honor you, the woman who created that life for me and our family, and I want it to be unique and incredible…just like you.

You began your journey on February 18, 1946, in the tiny little town of Truckee, California. You were welcomed by your adoring sister, Terri, and your loving parents, Jack and Mike. Throughout your childhood, your life was infused with an immense passion for family, deep love, hard work, laughter, and the outdoors. These things you carried close to your heart throughout your life, and they defined exactly who you were. 

Your younger years were spent riding horses by Trout Creek, enjoying Donner Lake, working, and making lifelong friends. One of your favorite experiences was when you worked at the Olympic Village during the 1960 Winter Olympics. You got to meet and mingle with many of the contestants. In 1963, you graduated from Tahoe Truckee High School. You did what many do and spread your wings a bit, moved from Truckee, worked, and relied on yourself. 

You decided to move back to Truckee, and on an ordinary day, coming out of the post office, something happened that would change the rest of your life. You were asked on a date to go fishing at Warren Lake by, who you always referred to as, “The absolute love of my life,” also known as Frank Borden. (It didn’t hurt that he was leaning up against his Corvette, either.) You survived (barely) the long hike on that first date. Soon after, you married in the uniquely beautiful Squaw Valley Chapel, and a lifelong adventure of following him through the wilderness and everywhere in between began. You eked out a living in Truckee, Carson City, and Reno but eventually decided the fast pace of the city wasn’t how you wanted to live or raise a family. So, in 1974, you and Dad took a leap of faith and packed up the green Dodge, a big U-Haul, and the blue Volkswagen and moved us to Wyoming looking for a better life. Somewhere, you could work hard but also take time to enjoy living. And live you did. 

Star Valley has always been a tough place to make a living. But you two scrimped, saved, worked damn hard and made your dreams a reality, and grew your businesses from the ground up. Diesel mechanic repair shop and real estate office. True partners filled with honesty, integrity, grit, love, hard work, and passion, as was the way you and Dad lived your life together.

Professionally, your most proud moment was obtaining your real estate license and then becoming a broker. You thrived in your business as you applied your life principles of honesty, integrity, and hard work to running Ellis Big Game Realty. You had the respect of your fellow businessmen in the field and established a reputation that reached far beyond Star Valley. Best of all you shared that success with your sister, Terri. You two were inseparable in business and in life.

When you weren’t working, your days were spent with Dad, enjoying and riding the rugged mountains around us. You loved packing your animals into the backcountry to hunt, fish, and camp. If a big buck or bull was bagged during those times life was all the more grand. 

As your businesses thrived, you two found a little time to relax and discovered another passion: deep-sea fishing in the Baja. Twenty-eight years traveling there in the old Dodge. There you savored the early mornings on the ocean, the heaviness of the humidity as the boat ran out to Catalina Island, the rolling of the tide, the dolphins running with the boat, the hard thump of a yellowtail hitting your line, the bent rods and tightened muscles reeling in a big one, friends on the radio cheering you on or giving you crap, bragging rights and the feast at the end of the day shared with your friends. 

Of all you have done in your life, the one thing you considered your greatest accomplishment was your family. You’ve cooked us meals, chauffeured us, nursed our hurts, warmed our tents, cheered our successes, mourned our losses, comforted us, helped us navigate any life situation, good or bad, and showed us a way to move forward. You validated our feelings, shared deep conversations and good advice, hysterical laughter, and most of all, unconditional and fierce love. You were our biggest fan, our Facebook, TikTok, and X long before they existed—advertising in person our accomplishments loud and repeatedly to whoever would listen. You’ve sat on a million bleachers, driven thousands of miles, and watched hundreds of videos to support each of our activities, our hopes, and our dreams.

Our entire family has been so blessed by that move so long ago. You and Dad instilled in us small-town values, hard work, and the marvel of the wilderness. “Make the ordinary come alive; the extraordinary will take care of itself.” It has made us want to stay, to make our homes here, and to show our kids the same incredible ways of life. For that, we all reap the joy of living near each other and being a close-knit family.

I will miss riding with you in our mountains, finding beauty in them even after more than fifty years of roaming them. I will miss the distinct way you sat a saddle and your pommel bag filled with all we could ever need, I will miss Oreos on the mountain when we were hunting, I will miss your humor, compassion, smile, fierce loyalty, and your honest truth, I will miss you in your big yellow slicker and fifty layers of clothing, I will miss how you loved the U.S.A., I will miss how you always wanted to pitch in and wash dishes or clean up, I will miss watching your relationships with grand and great-grandchildren, and I will miss feeling the deep love and devotion you had for Dad. Most of all I will miss walking down the hill from my house to yours, coming through the front door, seeing your warm smile and then….“ Hi Bear.”

On February 1, 2025, you left us to carry on what you have built. So many lives to reflect little pieces of you. Tylee with her work ethic and positivity, Taylor with his little brown eyes and sense of humor, Kayden and his grit, Kenley and her deep-felt compassion, Raegenn and her delight in every activity, Camden and his sense of the beauty in nature, and Austyn and her spunk. As we move forward, I hope I can teach, love, and nurture these precious lives in the same special way as you.

My mom, Kittie Lou Borden, was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Mike, her stepmother, Maggie, her sister and brother-in-law, Terri and Ross Merica, and her nephew, Patrick Michael Merica. 

She is survived by her husband of 58 short years, Frank, daughter Cinta (Robert/Whompa) Roberts, grandchildren Tylee (Grant) Williams and Taylor Roberts (Jess), great-grandchildren Kayden and Kenley Crookston, Raegenn Williams, Camden, and Austyn Roberts, nephews Bart Merica (Liz), Bret (Debbie) Merica, niece Katarina Merica, and her extended family Doug Henry, Karter, Embry, and Oaklynn Jenkins, the incredible staff at Heritage Senior Living in Preston, Idaho and last but not least her sweet dog Mac. We will celebrate Mom’s life this summer in the places she loved the most. In lieu of flowers please go spend some time with family.

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