Eileen Johanna Borstad was born on Jan. 26, 1936, to Emanuel and Nellie Paulson in Richwood, MN and passed away at the age of 86 in St. Paul, MN, on July 11, 2022.

She was raised with 11 siblings in the Detroit Lakes, MN, area and graduated from the Detroit Lakes High School in 1954. Eileen was united in marriage to Hixon Borstad on Dec. 26, 1954, and they were married 63 years. They had seven children, one of whom died in infancy. In 1959 they moved to Park Rapids, MN, where they lived for 41 years. Eileen graduated from Bemidji State University in 1976 with a degree in Elementary and Music Education and taught for a few years in Menahga, MN. She and Hixon were charter members of Faith Baptist Church in Park Rapids. In 2000 they moved to Barron, WI, where they lived until Hixon’s passing in 2018. Eileen moved to Arden Hills, MN, in 2021. Some of her favorite activities were gardening and music, but she especially loved being involved with youth in church ministry, especially in music. Most of all she loved her family, and in later years specialized in baking cookies and playing table games with her grandchildren.

She is survived by her children - Michael (Sherry), Timothy (Rebecca), Barbara Lancaster (Terry), Rebecca McCord, Kris Howard (Curt) and Joanna Anderson; 20 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren; 3 sisters, Marge (Dewey) Hanson, Mary Bosworth and Linda Sanders; many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Hixon; a daughter, Johanna; 2 sons-in-law, Mark McCord and Chad Anderson; 2 sisters, Edith Paulson and Blanche Shobe; 6 brothers, Lloyd, Harold, Leonard, Ken, Keith and Wally Paulson.

Funeral Services will be held at 2PM Monday, July 18, 2022 at Appleyard’s Home for Funerals in Rice Lake, with interment in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Barron, WI.

Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the funeral service at Appleyard’s Home for Funerals.

Last Update: Jul 15, 2022 10:36 am CDT