The complete obituary can be found at http://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=611575Bork.
LaVerne Leslie Bork, 90, of Brookings, SD, passed away Friday, April 20, 2012 at Brookview Manor, Brookings, SD. Memorial Services have been set for 11:00am, Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at Rude’s Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the Memorial Services at Rude’s Funeral Home.
Laverne Leslie Bork was born October 12th, 1921, to Laverne L. and Mable (Woodman) Bork in Aberdeen, SD. They later divorced when he was five years old. He spent his growing up years in Utah and Watertown, SD where he graduated from Watertown High School.
He spent one year at Northern State College in Aberdeen, before joining the U.S Navy during WWII. He spent most of his service years in the Pacific arena as a Naval Photographer. When the war ended he returned to South Dakota and resumed his education at Northern State College.
After graduation he spent a year running a photography business in Henderson, NV. He then returned to Aberdeen to work for his friend Herb Clinton at Clinton Farm Implement. There he met Bonney Anderson an R.N. at St. Luke’s Hospital. They were united in marriage on September 22nd, 1949 in Dupree, SD. They had a daughter Carol who was born on November 12, 1950.
Les returned to Northern State College to further his education, when he finished he and the family moved to Clear Lake, SD where he taught Math and Science. He also served as the Assistant Coach in various sporting activities. He also refereed many area sports.
They had a son, Robert J. who was born February 15, 1952. In the spring of 1952, Les was offered a position in the photo lab at SDSU. That gave him the opportunity to pursue his masters degree in education. He also worked toward his PH. D. at Stanford.
The family then made the move to Brookings, where they have resided since. Les became director of Audio-Visual Services and taught related courses. He was very instrumental to bring educational television into the school room. Their son Colin was born in 1958.
Les enjoyed his work, his family, his coffee and golfing group, winters spent in Edinburgh, TX, their lake cabin near Detroit Lakes where he loved hearing the Loons. He took the family to every state on summer vacations, often connected to Audio and Visual meetings, during their growing years. He was a collector of cameras coins, post cards and stamps. He also enjoyed being a 3rd grade mentor at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Les is survived by his wife, Bonney, of Brookings, SD; his daughter, Carol Johnson and her daughter, Shauna of San Jose, CA; two sons, Bob (Linda) Bork of Sioux Falls, SD and Colin and his daughters, Brianna and Sydney of Fargo, ND and one sister Lila Long of Eau Claire, WI.
He is preceded in death by his parents and one sister Betty Poston.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be directed to the Volunteer Service Bank, Brookview Manor, Brookings VFW or the Elks Club Youth Programs.
In reading over his legacy, a couple of items stood out. He worked for a year in Henderson, NV. At that time, Henderson must have been rather small. My niece lives in Las Vegas. Her husband's parents live in Henderson. Las Vegas has grown exponentially since she moved there 30 years ago. Also, Carol is five days older than I am.
In the elementary years, I knew Carol only from catechism classes. She attended Hillcrest, which, for me, was a long ways from Central. When we went to Jr. High, she was in the same class section. Except for gym and perhaps chorus, we had the same classes together all day. I don't recall much about Carol, excpet that she was, and still is, very intelligent. The only class in which I really remember her was Mrs. Olson's history class, probably because she sat near me.
Her brother Bob was on my little league team one year. If memory serves me correctly, he made a great catch in the outfield to win a game one time. Her younger brother Colin was about eight years younger than Carol. He was an outstanding golfer in high school.
I seem to recall that Mr. Bork was a very avid sports fan. He knew many of us because of our success on the basketball court. He always seemed to have a camera strapped around his neck. Carol's mother was a nurse. It seems that there was an article about her in the Brookings paper when she retired from that profession. Did she work in the maternity ward and help to deliver most of the babies born in Brookings during her time there? Perhaps some of you are more informed about this than I am. If so, don't hesitate to chime in.
Our thoughts and prayers also go out to Doug Voss, who has just lost a sister-in-law. Jeanette Langland passed away on April 12, 2012 after a battling cancer. She was a year behind us in school. I seem to recall seeing them at church on Sundays when we were younger. Her complete obituary can be found at http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=14291&page=80
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