Michael Borden
Michael P. Borden, 83, passed away on Friday, January 5, 2024, at his home in Hixson, Tennessee, with close family present. He fought a courageous battle against renal carcinoma.
“Mike” was born to Paul and Lois (Brown) Borden in Reno, Ne. Childhood and teen years were spent in various mining towns, the last of which was Bonanza, Utah, where his father managed operations for the American Gilsonite Company, then a subsidiary of the Chevron Corporation.
After a few years in the two-room schoolhouse in Bonanza, he took the daily bus ride 50 miles to Vernal, Utah to attend Uintah High School from which he gradsecond in his class in 1957. Beyond his excellence in math and science, he was a thespian and on debate teams. He went on to the University of Utah, graduating with honors with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1961. His appetite for learning still not satisfied, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, earned a Master of Science in Engineering, and began working immediately on a doctorate degree.
Mike was called to military service during the Viet Nam conflict and earned a commission through the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School. He was selected for Adm. Hyman G. Rickover’s (the “father” of the nuclear navy) department where he served for four years. It was during that time that he met and married Patricia, his wife for 54 beautiful years. When he was discharged, Lieutenant Borden was Director, Division of Naval Reactors.
Then it was back to Michigan where he finished studies and research for the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering which he was awarded in 1975.
After employment with Chrysler Corporation, Mike and Pat moved to Chattanooga in 1976 where he began his working life’s journey in Combustion Engineering’s materials testing laboratory. CE was world renowned for its superior work in the field of power generation, especially nuclear fueled. In his “spare time” he earned another degree, M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, from the University of Tennessee.
CE transferred him to its Windsor, CT power plant laboratories, during which time the company was acquired by Asea-Brown-Bovari in 1989. In 1999 ABB sold its boiler and fossil fuel business to Alstom and the company moved Mike and his family back to Chattanooga in 2010. Throughout his work for those three companies, Mike’s expertise in materials and how they were affected by heat and pressure were sought by his employers’ customers around the world. When he retired in 2015, Dr. Borden was a Senior Consulting Engineer at Alstom’s Materials Technology Center.
He enjoyed his retirement by working in his shop and tending to his yard and garden.
Mike was preceded in death by his parents, and is survived by his wife Patricia, daughter Krista Johnson and grandson Michael, sons David (Janna), and Philip (Avery). Also surviving is younger brother Jim and his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Jude Catholic Church, 930 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, preceded by visitation at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice.
Arrangement are by Hamilton Funeral Home, 4506 Hixson Pike, Hixson, Tn. 37343.