Susan Elizabeth Borner Sanger

Published 12:29 am Tuesday, August 9, 2016

June 21, 1945 – August 2, 2016

Susan Elizabeth Borner Sanger ended her courageous battle against carcinoid cancer on August 2nd, 2016.

She will be remembered for her vibrant spirit and loving devotion to her husband, Jim, their sons Tom and Kevin, daughter in laws, Pamela and Rosanna, and six grandchildren, Devin, Julia, Patrick, Maria, Elisabeth, and Frankie. Tom and Pam and their two boys live in Folsom, California. Kevin and Rosanna and their four children reside in Portland, Oregon.

Susan was a wonderfully caring, thoughtful, fun-loving person with a warm and positive outlook. Her enthusiastic love of life made her a joyful companion. She was an inquisitive person, as capable at solving sewing and quilting quandaries as she was at resolving mechanical problems that arose in daily life. She loved working with her hands, on projects from gardening to designing glass windows.

She was a skilled and compassionate nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland. In her 17 years as a nurse, Susan was highly regarded for her professionalism and ethics. Susan’s strong desire to help and support extended to her family and friends as well. Susan put others first in every part of her life.

Susan’s love for travel took root when she was a high school exchange student in Japan. Throughout her life Susan loved experiencing new places. She and Jim traveled widely: New Zealand, Australia, China, Tibet, Ireland, Greece, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean were just a few of the wonderful trips that they took. Closer to home, her sons Tom and Kevin cherished their many trips to the Oregon coast. They have wonderful memories of exploring tide pools with Susan.

Her loss will be felt by many across the country, as she will be mourned by relatives and close friends from many communities where she and Jim journeyed throughout their 48 years of marriage.

Susan was born on June 21, 1945 in Franklin Square, New York to Fred and Betty Borner. Her parents are deceased and she is survived by her brother, Dennis Borner and his wife Deborah of Florida. She is also survived by her brother in law, John Sanger and his wife, Maureen, of Minnesota, and her sister in law, Mary Sanger Meier and her husband, John, also of Minnesota, and their families.

Susan graduated high school from Sacred Heart Academy on Long Island, New York. She then attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, graduating with a BS nursing degree in 1968. Susan met her husband, Jim, at Creighton. They began a wonderful marriage on June 8th, 1968.

Health Care Careers took Susan and Jim from Omaha, Nebraska to Minneola, New York; West Lafayette, Indiana; Rochester, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Centralia and Mount Vernon, Illinois; St Louis, Missouri and finally to Vancouver, Washington and Sisters, Oregon for a retirement split between between the two locations.

Words cannot convey what she meant to so many. She was loved deeply.

Hospice, Home IV, Partners in Care and the Bend Memorial Oncology Clinic made a difficult journey much easier.

A celebration of life will be held at Riverside GCC in Portland on August 22, 2016 at 1 PM.

In lieu of flowers the family appreciates donations in Susan’s memory to The Histio Cure Foundation, PO Box 6446, Folsom, CA 95763-6446.