A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
4
August 25, 2016
Classified
Edna Jo
(Sturtevant) Boroff
Edna Jo Boroff, gardener,
genealogist,
educator,
community advocate, and
proud
grandmother,
passed away in her
Millersville, Maryland home
on June 16, 2016.
Mrs. Boroff was a resident
of Canton Township for
many years and graduated
from Wayne Memorial High
and Eastern Michigan
University.
Mrs. Boroff applied her
energy and drive to count-
less hobbies, adventures,
and challenges in life,
almost all of them with an
eye toward improving the
lives of others. She was an
elementary school teacher
who delighted in teaching
children how to read. Later,
she was an early adopter of
computing
technology.
Well before most of us
knew who Bill Gates was,
she was busy instructing
adults how to use MS-
DOS. An accomplished
potter, Mrs. Boroff taught
folks how to mold a block
of clay into wonderful
mugs, vases, and bowls.
Her pieces bear the initials
EJ and are usually finished
in her favorite blue or grey
glaze.
No matter what she was
doing, it's fair to say that
Mrs.
Boroff
could
be…well…stubborn. She
was a hard-driving, hard-
working perfectionist who
expected excellence from
herself and from those
around her. Anyone caught
in the act of a middling
effort was going to get an
earful. She was never
afraid to stand her ground
for a cause, especially
those of people she cared
for. Apparently, the world
first learned of these traits
when, as a young child,
she confronted a school-
yard bully who didn't quite
appreciate who he was
dealing with, so she
socked him right in the
nose. While her mother,
Russelle Sturtevant, wasn't
amused,
her
father,
Woodrow
Sturtevant,
couldn't help but chuckle.
He certainly knew who he
was dealing with.
For nearly 50 years Mrs.
Boroff was married to her
husband and best friend,
Michael. As an Army offi-
cer's wife, she endured too
many days alone, but when
he was home they shared
every possible moment
planning for and tending to
their garden, a passion
they maintained to the end.
Their home is a celebration
of flowering plants, colorful
ferns, and decorative trees.
Mrs. Boroff particularly
loved daylilies, iris, azal-
eas, and peonies, and she
guarded them zealously
from man and beast alike.
Fort Knox should be given
the
protection
she
bestowed on her rare bald
cypress trees. The local
deer population still has
every reason to be scared
of her,
Gardening wasn't just a
family affair, though. She
had a ball being a member
of her community garden
club,
the
Hillendale
Diggers. Meeting at mem-
bers' homes, Mrs. Boroff
and her friends talked
about plants, enjoyed food
and wine, and voted on
gardening honors for
neighbors. A sign reading
"Beauty Spot" or "Best
Groomed" posted in one's
yard means a thumb's up
from the pros!
Mrs. Boroff took great pride
in her community and its
people. She helped organ-
ize and participate in all
manner of community
activities. Christmas lumi-
narias, Halloween parades,
bull roasts, bonfires, recre-
ational park cleanup and
improvements, Memorial
Day
barbeques…these
and more were always on
her calendar. To protect the
integrity of her beloved
Hillendale neighborhood,
Mrs. Boroff watched county
and state government
activities like a hawk.
When gardening activities
ebbed as daylight grew
short, she turned to her
second
favorite
pas-
time…genealogy. She had
an earnest need to know
everything she could about
those who came before
her. Sheo and her sister
Barbara searched online
databases and libraries,
poured over genealogy
newsletters, reached out to
distant family members,
and even travelled the
country in search of clues
to our family history. Today,
her office is filled with their
documented discoveries.
Mrs. Boroff adored her
grandsons and spoiled
them enthusiastically. As
their
initial
daycare
provider, she witnessed
their first steps and heard
their first words. Once
older, she wasted no time
helping them explore the
garden for praying mantis,
butterflies, and seemingly
endless varieties of cater-
pillars. When hunger
called, she was ready with
tasty treats like cinnamon
sugar toast, cookies, ice
cream, and little hidden
baskets of candy corn. If
the kitchen was closed,
they'd
run
off
to
McDonald's where she
taught them the "Sturtevant
sip," a seemingly innocent
request to try your drink
that resulted in half of it dis-
appearing.
Mrs. Boroff's days as a
grandmother were cut
short by a disease that
refused to leave her alone.
Subjected to the ravages of
cancer, she gamely fought
through surgery after sur-
gery. Her private battle with
their dehumanizing after-
math was supremely diffi-
cult, but she would follow
her passions until the day
came when even they were
out of reach.
Her final days revealed
everything one needed to
know about her. She was
grace. She was dignity.
She was quiet fortitude. But
mostly…she was Mom.
Mrs. Boroff is survived by
her siblings, Barbara
Fulkerson
of
Salem
Township, John Sturtevant
of New Braunfels, TX and
Bill Sturtevant of Ypsilanti;
by many nieces and
nephews as well as her son
Eric,
daughter-in-law
Susan, and cherished
grandsons Benjamin and
Nathaniel, all of Millersville,
MD.
We loved you dearly, Mom.
Give Dad a hug and a kiss
for us. One day we will see
each other again.
To leave a memorial mes-
sage, access
-
rialwebsites.legacy.com/Ed
naJoBoroff/Homepage.asp
x.
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PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP
POLICE DEPT.
734 354-3232
NOTICE OF
PUBLIC SALE
Notice is hereby given
that on 08/29/2016,
at 10:00 am,
Mayflower Auto Transport,
1179 Starkweather,
Plymouth, MI 48170,
a public auction
of the following:
1999 PONTIAC GRAND AM
1G2NE12T9XM927462
2002 PONTIAC TRANS AM
2G2FV22GX22163133
1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX
1G2WJ52K8XF238693
1999 DODGE DAKOTA
1B7GL22X6XS121674
2002 FORD TAURUS
1FAPP55272A210837
2005 CHEVY IMPALA
2G1WF52E559340216
1996 CHEVY SS350
1GCEC14M9TZ170194
1997 BUICK LE SABRE
1G4HP52K0VH612388
1997 PONTIAC
1G2NE52TBVC864851
1994 FORD TEMP
1FAPP36X2RK138145
B
ELLEVILLE
- N
ORTHVILLE
Annual Back to School Blitz continues in area
West of Center exhibit planned in Northville
Following the arrest of a
Durham School Services bus
driver in connection with a
shooting incident, Northville
Public Schools Superintendent
of School Mary Kay Gallagher
issued a public statement regard-
ing thematter.
Gallagher told parents and
staff members that the employee,
arrested on felony charges in
Wixom, has been placed on leave
by the company that provides bus
transportation inNorthville.
“Although this alleged inci-
dent took place during the sum-
mer months away from the
Northville community, and did
not involve students, we recog-
nize that amatter of this sort rais-
es concern on the part of our stu-
dents and our families,”
Gallagherwrote.
DurhamSchools Services also
issued a statement assuring
school officials and parents that
all background checks, including
fingerprinting, were performed
“and were clear” prior to the hir-
ing of the individual now facing
felony charges.
“We meet state and federal
mandates for school bus
driver/monitor screening and
training and there are many
steps taken before employment:
these include drug and alcohol
testing; an MVR check and a
criminal background check,”
indicated Durham spokeswoman
MollyHart.
“The safety of our students is
our top priority and we would
like to reassure parents and
members in the community that
we have a stringent hiring
process for bus drivers andmoni-
tors,”Hart said.
This is the second incident of
criminal charges against a
Durham employee. A bus moni-
tor in the Plymouth-Canton
Community School District, was
arrested by Northville Township
police on sexual assault charges
against a minor in May. The case
is still in the court system.
“He is no longer employed by
Durham School Services,”
according to the Durham state-
ment. “The background checks
showed therewas no arrest histo-
ry, therefore, our background/fin-
gerprint checks did not show any
activity.”
Gallagher reassured parents
that the safety of students is a pri-
mary concern in the district.
“As always, we are committed
to working together with our
police, school and community
partners to ensure the safety and
well-being of our students and
our staff members,” Gallagher
said in the statement. “As we
finalize preparations for school,
we act with vigilance and dedica-
tion to provide a safe and wel-
coming school setting for your
children.”
The annual community Back
to School BlitzNine school supply
drive will continue through Aug.
29 inBelleville.
This year, the committee mem-
bers working on the drive to col-
lect school supplies for less fortu-
nate children include some famil-
iar names in the community. Paul
Henning of the Belleville Area
Chamber of Commerce, Andy
Lindsay from Owen Intermediate
School and Brent Mikulski, presi-
dent of the Van Buren Board of
Education are working to coordi-
nate the Belleville portion of the
collection event.
Names of families who might
be in need of some help prepar-
ing children to go back to school
are being sought by the Salvation
Army.
All kindergarten through 12th
grade students in Van Buren,
Belleville and Sumpter are eligi-
ble for backpacks if they reside in
the household with a parent or
guardian.
Donations of new supplies and
items will be accepted at the
Belleville Chamber of Commerce,
Belleville City Hall, Belleville
Library and Van Buren Public
Schools, on registrationdays.
Needed this year are items
including number two pencils,
hand sanitizer, hand soap,
Kleenex, scissors, glue stick/glue
bottles; wide ruled loose leaf
paper, graph paper, dry erase
markers; Zip-loc bags; Scientific
calculators, Scotch tape,
Sharpies, staples, USB drives,
pocket folders, backpacks, note
books, compasses and protrac-
tors, yellow highlighters, index
cards, 24-count crayons, colored
pencils, markers, composition
books, erase tips, binders, pencil
cases, red, blue and black pens
and 1-inchbinders.
For information about donat-
ing to the drive, contact Aren at
The
Salvation
Army,
Laurie_aren@usc.salvation-
army.org; Henning, info@bellevil-
lechamber.org; Lindsay, alind-
or
Mikulski, bmikulski@vanburen-
schools.net
The Northville Art House will
host the 8th Annual West of
Center All Media Show during
September andOctober.
Thirty three works of art
selected by highly regarded
juror Kate Paul will be on dis-
play including paintings, photo-
graphs, sculpture, and mixed
media pieces created by 30 con-
temporary artists working with
traditional and nontraditional
media indiverse styles.
The artists, who are compet-
ing for $500 in cash awards,
include: Jim Aho, Gail
Borowski, Sara Slee Brown,
Pamela Day, Amy Fell, Harah
Frost, Took Gallagher, Bruce
Giffin, Lisa Hermann, Eloise
Hirlemann, Eugenia Hoag,
Steven Hollar, Mary Kernahan,
Peggy Kerwan, WanChuan
Kesler, Candace Law, Rosemary
Lee, Janet McClintock, Nicole
Pelc-Church, Cheryl Phillips,
Joanne Rochon, Celeste Roe,
Dean Rogers, Gayle Sanchirico,
Brenda Beene Shackleford,
Judith Waterman, Bob Wesley,
Carrie 'Care' Wheeler, Janice
Wilkiemeyer andDeniseWilling-
Booher.
West of Center opens with a
public reception, sponsored by
Tipping Point Theatre, from 6-9
p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 with a juror
talk and awards presentation at
7:30 p.m. An additional reception
is planned for 6-9 p.m. Friday,
Oct. 7. The exhibit will continue
throughOct. 28 during Art House
business hours from noon until 5
p.m. Tuesday throughFriday and
noon until 4 p.m. Saturdays. The
Northville Art House is located
at 215W. Cady St. and is a facility
of the Northville Arts
Commission. Admission to Art
House exhibits is free and open
to the public.
For more information visit
or
call (248) 344-0497 during busi-
ness hours.
As always, we are committed
to working together with our police,
school and community partners to ensure
the safety and well-being of our
students and our staff members.
”
Schools reassure parents after driver’s arrest
BOLD TYPE ATTRACTS
MORE READERS
To
advertise
in
The Eagle
call
734-467-1900.
