Obituaries

Due to the difficult circumstances of COVID 19, we are providing a recording of Dick Borchardt's private service below.

Madison - On December 5, 2020 at 10:30 AM Richard "Dick" Borchardt left earth to go to his eternal home. His memory will remain in our hearts until we meet again. Dick was born in Madison, WI on August 10, 1939, on his brother Bob's birthday. He was the middle son of Robert and Eleanor (Wild) Borchardt.

Dick grew up in a working class family on Madison's North Side. His parents both worked at Oscar Mayer. Even in his youth Dick was a hard worker, selling night crawlers until he was old enough to deliver newspapers in his Sherman Ave. neighborhood, he was a caddie at Maple Bluff Country Club, moving on to taking care of the greens in the summer. Dick had a remarkable work ethic, and he earned everything he would come to have.

Dick graduated from Madison East High School, class of 1957. He received the Gisholt Machine Company's Efficiency Award. Dick loved sports and excelled in wrestling. He was the State Wrestling Champion at the 138 weight class his senior year. He was offered a wrestling scholarship to the U.W. of Wisconsin; he turned it down because Dick always wanted to be a carpenter, like his grandfather, John Wild.

He married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Hughes, on April 4,1959. They met in 5th grade when he chased her to a friend's house after school. She was the love of his life, and he commented on how beautiful she was to everyone. They were blessed with three children. To them Dick was able to pass on the value of hard work, his sense of humor and love of family.

Dick worked for Gilbert Builders for several years before starting Borchardt Builders in 1972. He started out doing residential remodeling, additions and building houses until the interest rates skyrocketed in 1980’s. He survived by starting to bid light commercial jobs. With the help of friends sending business his way, he not only survived, but was very successful. During his years as a General Contractor he forged friendships with his fellow contractors and many of the business people with whom he worked. He retired in 2010, but continued to remain involved and interested in the business.

Dick lived the American Dream for over 60 years until Dementia/Alzheimer's started to move in. The nightmare took over in March of 2020. His family knew he could no longer safely remain at home since he was trying to leave the house at all hours; he had to be watched 24/7. We found a wonderful memory care assisted living facility that was nearby, and his friends and family planned to visit him daily. He moved in on March 11, and on March 13, 2020, Governor Evers pronounced a lock down due to COVID-19. We were told it would only be for a few weeks. Months later we are still in lock down. The family had an outside visit with Dick on April 4, 2020, to celebrate his 61st wedding anniversary. In June they were forced to switch to window visits. We were luckier than most. Since Dick had so many health issues, and it was a miracle he was still alive, they allowed compassionate care outings. We got to take Dick to the park on Father's Day for a family photo followed by dinner at his daughter, Shelley’s. We celebrated his 81st birthday with him at Linda & Al's home.

Dick loved fishing, hunting, Badger Hockey, the Packers and the Cubs. But most of all Outdoor Dick loved being with family and friends at his cabin in Westfield, Wisconsin.

Dick is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy; his three children, Linda (Alan) Buchner, Shelley (Rodd Ripp) Murphy, and Rick (Shelly) Borchardt; thirteen grandchildren, Tim (Vanessa) Urso, Michelle (Matt) Hill, Melissa (Jeff) Murphy, Richard (Emily) Morgan, Ryan (Chrissy) Morgan, Lindsey (Garret) Kaltenberg, Robert Borchardt, Charles Borchardt, Naomi (Jason) Burke, Lisa Buchner, Brandon (Tonya) Buchner, Jonna Ripp and Cole Ripp; fourteen great grandchildren, Callie and Trenton Burke, Elly and Zoe Morgan, Jacob and Owen Hill, Wesley Murphy, Averi and Lakelyn Buchner, Kinsley Morgan, Bennett Urso, Grayson Kaltenberg, Cooper and Macy Skubal. He is further survived by sisters-in-law, Elsie Balsamo and Bernice Hughes, many very dear nieces, nephews and a lifetime of good friends.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Robert & Eleanor Borchardt; his two brothers, Bob and Gary Borchardt; his father and mother-in-law, Alvin and Tressie Hughes; his sisters and brothers-in-law; Ethel and Howard Rohr, Hugh and Irene Hughes, Charlotte and Donald Rusch, Joe Balsamo, and Robert Hughes.

The family would like to thank our friends at BrightStar in Waunakee who stepped in to care for Dick in our stead, and to Agrace Hospice for their compassionate end of life care.

To all of you who have already reached out to support us, we sincerely thank you. You are our family, our friends and friends who are like family. We wish we could have told each of you personally, hugged you and been hugged back.

In consideration of public safety due to COVID-19, Dick's family had to make the difficult decision to have a private service. We will have a public memorial at a later date when it is safe to gather. A live stream of Dick's service will be available.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute: https://wai.wisc.edu/give/

To view and sign the guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N Sherman Ave

608-249-8257