RICHFIELD, Minn. — Norma Ruth (Borah) Marking, 88, of Richfield, Minn., passed away peacefully June 16, 2022, with family by her side.

Norma Borah was born July 10, 1933, in Huron. She was baptized and confirmed at First Presbyterian Church in Huron. A hard worker with a can-do attitude she was very involved in school activities and had jobs every summer.

Her parents owned Borah Construction which built many of the roads in Beadle County. She told stories of spending weeks in the summers picking rocks and sleeping in the camper in the country to prepare land for road building.

She graduated from Huron High School and earned her bachelor’s degree at Huron College in 1955. An independent young woman, Norma set out for Minneapolis, Minn., to work at IBM developing programs for building highways. From there she traveled to Great Falls, Mont., where she met lifelong friends while teaching math at West Junior High School from 1958 – 1960.

Norma met Ralph Marking while she was earning her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. They were married at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, on August 31, 1963. They moved to Eau Claire, Wis., where they were active members of Trinity Lutheran Church.

They enjoyed 53 years of marriage. Norma and Ralph had two children: Chad and Sara. Norma stayed home with Chad and Sara from 1967 – 1982. Multitasking at home, she passed the CPA Exam and went back to teaching at the University of Wis., Eau Claire, as an Instructor of Accounting from 1983 until 1989, when she retired.

In retirement, Norma and Ralph enjoyed traveling with trips to Europe, Norway, Russia, China, Hawaii, Alaska and Australia. Norma kept a deep connection to her roots in South Dakota and cared for her sister Lois until her death in 2010. She and Ralph made countless trips to South Dakota to enjoy visits with the Borah’s.

In 2015, Norma and Ralph left Eau Claire and moved to Richfield, Minn., to spend more time near their daughter, Sara, and grandsons, Alex and Nikolas. Norma delighted in visiting with both grandsons on Saturday afternoons and cheered enthusiastically at all their soccer and basketball games.

Norma is survived by her daughter, Sara Fischer; two grandchildren, Alexander and Nikolas Fischer; her nieces, Janice (John) Fathke and Maureen (Jim) Eichstadt; her nephew, Jay (Joyce) Borah; brothers-in-law, Stan Sollie, Myrvin Christopherson and Gary Wynveen; and her many nieces and nephews, family and friends.

Norma is preceded in death by her loving husband Ralph; beloved son, Chad; her parents, James Carroll and Lenora Borah; her brothers, Howard Borah, Carmon and his wife, Olga Borah; her sister, Lois Borah; her nephew-in-law, Jim Eichstadt; her parents-in-law, Adolph and Esther Marking; brother-in-law, Arne Marking; sisters-in-law, Dagny Sollie, Anne Christopherson and Ingrid Wynveen.

A small graveside service will be held today.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.

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