Obituary: Lorene Borin

Lorene Catherine Borin, 87, of Cloquet passed away peacefully, with family by her side, Nov. 16, 2024, at Aspirus St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. She was born Feb. 9, 1937, in Linton, North Dakota, the daughter of Aaron and Katherine (Nathan) Putnam. During her childhood she also lived in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Sturgeon Lake, graduating from Willow River High School in 1955.

When not haying or milking cows on the family farm, she enjoyed fishing on the Kettle River, and caught fish almost every time she went.

In September of 1957, Lorene moved to Cloquet and worked at Wood Conversion Company. It was in Cloquet where she met her husband, Arnold Borin. They shared 44 good years together while living in the country and raising four children, who brought much joy into their lives. They always had a lovely vegetable garden. Lorene enjoyed preparing different dishes for her family to enjoy and was especially proud of her dill pickles. She was very generous and loved sharing the bounty with others as well.

Another great joy of Lorene's was making homemade potato sausage and lean ring sausage. A memorable part of that was taking the sausage over to her brother's house for him to smoke it while she spent time visiting with Archie and his wife, Maxine.

Other interests included camping, bowling, and a continued interest in fishing, often entering her catch into fishing contests and winning prizes.

Lorene had been a long-time member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. She enjoyed the senior bible study, and those who attended looked forward to her delicious egg salad sandwiches.

Family and friends were very important to Lorene. She fondly remembered taking trips to South Dakota to visit her sister Irene's family and going to Oregon to visit brother Don's family. She often spent time with her many friends, getting together with them to celebrate birthdays and sharing life events.

She and her daughter, Lori, had a special relationship and enjoyed being together, going out to lunch and movies, casinos, concerts, rodeos, and family reunions. Lorene cherished spending time with her family and loved them dearly. She was known for sharing great stories and jokes and did so right up to the weeks preceding her passing.

Lorene spoke about the many trips to Sturgeon Lake to visit her parents. She thought the world of her mother and admired her mother's love for family and her delicious cooking. Lorene carried on those same attributes, including cooking and baking for those close to her. She would say, "Nothing is hard to do if you do it with love."

Lorene was preceded in death by her parents, Aaron and Katherine Putnam; her husband, Arnold Borin; her sister, Irene Dockter; and her brothers, Jim Putnam, Archie Putnam, Duane Putnam, and Don Putnam. She is survived by her children, Loren (Beverly) Borin, Mark (Lisa) Borin, Lori Borin, Brian (Tammie) Borin; and nine grandchildren/step-grandchildren.

The family sends special thanks to Rev. Laura Puumala Berdahl and the nurses at the St. Luke's Comfort Care/Hospice unit. Thank you to Mindy for the beautiful afghan to comfort Mom.

Visitation: 12 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet. The visitation will be followed by a 1 p.m. funeral service.

To sign an online registry, visit http://www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.

Pine Knot News, Nov. 22, 2024