BOROFKA, PHYLLIS JOANN (HOLMSTROM)

life story

Devoted Wife and Mother

Phyllis "Tenderhearted"

...As God's chosen...clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindliness, humility, gentleness...

-Colossians 3:12

Phyllis Joann Borofka (Holmstrom) age 77 of Plymouth, Minnesota, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, after a 14-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Phyllis was born on December 29, 1944, in Rush City, Minnesota and moved to Blaine, Minnesota in the early 1950s. Growing up, Phyllis was very close to her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and family always remained important to her. After graduating from Spring Lake Park High School in 1963, she moved to Arizona to live with her grandparents and attended Grand Canyon University for a year. She loved animals, nature, camping and the outdoors and worked two seasons at Yosemite National Park, memories from which she would speak fondly of over the rest of her life. After returning to Minnesota, Phyllis met Alvin (“Al”) Borofka through a computer dating service, and they were married on September 7, 1968. Phyllis immediately took on the role of mother to Alvin’s then 2-year-old daughter Anita, and later gave birth to Wendy (1971) and Pamela (“Pam”) (1975). Phyllis’s primary job was always “mom.” She also assisted with bookkeeping for Al’s milk delivery business and did in-home baby-sitting so she could stay home with her family. When her children got older, she drove school bus for Hanus Bus Company, and then went on to do assembly work for Wagner Spray Tech and finally Medtronic, where she retired in 2009. As a long-time member of Wayzata Evangelical Free Church, Phyllis also shared her love of music singing in the choir, playing hand bells, and playing saxophone in the church orchestra. She served in the nursery, was active in Bible study for many years, and served on annual mission trips to inner city Chicago, cooking and serving hundreds of meals to the community. She was also an avid lifelong blood donor, donating more than 30 gallons. Phyllis loved people - all people. She had a kind word, a smile, and a twinkle in her eye for everyone she met, and it was her ministry to always leave people better than she found them. The one thing Phyllis was known for more than anything else was neck and shoulder massages – she would make the rounds at every gathering, blessing people with her strong hands and gentle touch. Even if it was only for a minute, she made sure everyone got a massage - it was her own special love language. Phyllis enjoyed family vacations, camping, canoeing, and visiting life-long family friends the Bockers on their farm in Illinois. She was always active in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives, often with camera in hand taking pictures for her scrapbooks. Her old home movies are a family treasure. In 2008, after the trip of a lifetime, an Alaskan cruise celebrating her and Alvin’s 40th anniversary, Phyllis was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She stayed as active with her family as she could, but by 2013 was moved into memory care. In 2016 she moved to the Minnesota Veteran’s Home, where she lived out her remaining years. The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the staff at the Minnesota Veteran’s Home and the team from Grace Hospice who lovingly and compassionately cared for her until the end.

Phyllis was preceded in death by grandparents George and Mina Gerber (Cave Creek, Arizona); parents Edwin and M. Dorothy Holmstrom (Blaine, Minnesota and later Cave Creek, Arizona); Aunt Della Olson (Seattle, Washington); Aunt and Uncle Harriet and Karl Gerber (Minneapolis, Minnesota); sister-in-law Pamela Holmstrom (St. Francis, Minnesota); and youngest daughter Pamela K. Borofka (Plymouth, Minnesota). She is survived by husband Alvin Borofka (Plymouth, Minnesota); daughter and son-in-law Anita and Dean Forrest and grandchildren Andrew and Nathaniel (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota); daughter and son-in-law Wendy and Brian Menk and grandchildren Alanna and Benjamin (Paynesville, Minnesota); brother Steve Holmstrom (St. Francis, Minnesota); brother and sister-in-law Harold and Carol Holmstrom (Fridley, Minnesota); brother- and sister-in-law James and Janice Borofka (Woodbury, Minnesota); brother- and sister-in-law Dave and Sue Derro (Rice Lake, Wisconsin); brother-in-law Bernard Borofka (Rice Lake, Wisconsin); and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

memorial service

Visitation and Celebration of Life

July 30, 2022

Wayzata Free Church 705 County Rd 101, Plymouth, MN 55447, USA

In person service will be limited to family and close family friends only. Service will begin at 11 with visitation one hour prior.

For those unable to join in person, livestream will be provided on the church website starting at 10:40 a.m. (and archived for later viewing) at this link:

https://subspla.sh/qvrz229

Funeral/Cremation Provider: Crescent Tide Cremation Services