By James Pluta

Many residents of Justice or those affiliated with Indian Springs
Elementary and/or Argo Community High school districts 109 and/or 217
would have undoubdtedly knew or met Adrian Borst III or a member of his
small but “very involved” family around town over the past 40 years or so.

“I can’t think of anything Adrian was not involved in over the years and
he always had his wife, Pat, by his side,” recalled longtime friend and
fellow Village Voice Party founder John Small. “We were great friends and
he will truly be missed.”

Borst, who moved to the village’s Roberts Park subdivision in 1969 and the
father of two grown sons, Daniel and David, died March 3, with his family
at his side, of a cardiac arrest at Advocate Christ Medical Center, after
recently suffering an aortic aneurysm. He was 81.

Visitation was held March 6 for Mr. Borst, a former two-term elected
Justice Village Board trustee in the 1980s, at the Damar-Kaminski Funeral
Home & Crematorium in Justice and a full Catholic Mass was said the
following day at St. Fabian Church in Bridgeview, where his family were
parishioners.

Mr. Borst, a United States Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, was
cremated and his remains were interred, according to his wishes, at
Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood.

Mrs. Borst didn’t even have to recall the first thing she shared when
asked about her late spouse of 53 years, for anyone who knew them well, as
they were often seen, happily, side-by-side.

“We were involved in everything together,” said Mrs. Borst, who met him
through his brother, “and we were just great together.”

A 30-year veteran lithograph artist by trade who switched occupations
mid-career to work for the government’s Bureau of Apprenticeship &
Training for another two decades, Mr. Borst was a graduate of Washburne
Trade School and Morgan Park Academy in Chicago.

She said the Rev. Peter Cyscon put it best when describing her husband
during his sermon.

“He said ‘Here was a man who all of his life gave of himself to
everybody’,” said Mrs. Borst. “When he worked for the government, he would
go around to schools and factories and try to get people back to work in
different careers. All his life, Adrian was giving for somebody else. That
was Adrian.”

Last year at an alumni event at Argo High where his two sons and
daughter-in-law, Jill (McCabe), graduated, he reminisced with this writer
and longtime family friend about his illustrious graphic artist career,
which witnessed varied technological advances in the years before he
finally retired, but in his second occupation.

One of his intriguing skills of which he spoke proudly was as a touch-up
artist for Neuman Rudolph helping design maps and the covers of such
popular periodicals as Modern Bride, Look, Life and various men’s
magazines of the day, making models in just about any kind of shoot look
even more attractive and, especially, sporting unblemished features, long
before the computer age took over the industry.

Mr. Borst, a Chicago native from the neighborhood of 79th & Halsted
streets, was of Dutch descent, one of three sons and a daughter of Adrian
IV, a bricklayer, and Eleanor. His family name was originally Van Borst,
but was shortened when they emigrated here from Holland.

Mr. Borst also spoke frequently and proudly of his sons and grandchildren,
which included Rebecca, Delaney and Molly, and great-grandson, Anthony.

His son, Daniel and his wife Jill both formerly served on the Justice
Public Library Board and his son David has also been active with his
parents in the Argo High football concession stands through his
affiliation with the school’s Booster Club, of which he currently serves
as treasurer.

His son, David, said his father left in he and his brother the tradition
of a strong work ethic.

“It didn’t matter if you were sick or miserable, my Dad always said, you
don’t take off days for anything,” said David, a career electrician. “So
we’d work non-stop. If I took off a day and Dad knew it, he’d be on me.”

Mr. Borst, a close friend of Village Trustee and former mayor Edward Rusch
Jr. (another Coalition candidate) was also a former Police & Fire
commissioner and Recreation Board member. His wife was Youth Commission
chairman for 10 years.