Robert "Bob" Bors age 96 of Long Grove

Robert, devoted father, husband and friend to many, passed away peacefully in Long Grove, Illinois on May 24, 2026 at the age of 96 after a long and full life. He was born on May 7, 1930 in Chicago, IL to his parents, Carl and Marie Bors. He attended St. Patrick High School in Chicago, and during his high school years, he made a core group of very close friends who maintained their strong friendships through countless fun gatherings and activities for over 50 years. He met Eleanore Pink through this group, and they eventually married in 1954. During these early years, he was a Boy scout and began singing in church choirs, something he continued his whole life.

After graduating high school in 1947, he worked at various jobs, including Montgomery Wards and other companies. He began his college education at the Illinois Institute of Technology (I.I.T.), paying his own tuition and studying Chemical Engineering. Not having enough money to continue his education, in 1951, he left school and joined the military as a member of the Army Corps. of Engineers. He completed two years of duty in 1953 during the Korean War and returned to I.I.T. in the evening program to complete his degree in 1956 while working days and using veteran benefits to pay the tuition.

Although he started his work experiences at the age of 14, courtesy of a birth certificate altered by his mother, the bulk of his professional career was spent in various companies with domestic and international manufacturing divisions, including management positions at Avon and Helene Curtis. In order to spend more time with his family towards the end of his career, he switched to investing in real estate opportunities, and he took roles in condo sales in Chicago followed by residential sales in Park Ridge where his family grew up.

He was a lifelong die-hard fan of the Chicago Bears, and he rarely missed watching a game. He retired in his late-50’s and spent time with his growing family and on his investments. He also became particularly interested in genealogy research and traced the Bors family origin

back to Europe. With his wry, mischievous humor, he was always happy to let people know that one of the 12 knights of King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Bors, son of King Bors. He and Eleanore started a favorite family tradition of bestowing whimsical “royal golden gifts” to each of their sons at their weddings, a tradition that his sons have continued at their own children’s weddings. As part of his genealogy work, he estimated that his life expectancy was about 65 years, and his family delighted in constantly reminding him that he missed that mark by more than a few years.

His children started arriving in 1955 (John), followed by Paul, Bill, Dan, Mike and Dave. His first house was in Prospect Heights, IL, and they later moved to Park Ridge, IL where the children grew up in a large 3-story house with spacious front and back yards that were constantly in use. The large front yard was used for many football games with family, friends and cousins. In the backyard, there was a small basketball court where very competitive games were held, along with an above-ground pool with a deep end, a multistory fort, a tetherball court, and, in the winter, a large hockey rink. He also bought the family two identical sailboats for family outings and races on the weekends.

He lived his entire life with strong religious convictions, and his children attended St. Paul of the Cross Catholic School and served as altar boys in church there. He was particularly proud of helping start one of the first Catholic Grammer School Boards in the Chicago Archdiocese where he served as a Board member. Although he was known for a few non-negotiable child-rearing rules, he gave his sons a fairly wide latitude for making personal decisions which helped them develop independence. He also led by example with a strong work ethic which helped them succeed. After attending Maine South High School, all of his boys attended the University of Illinois, with most of them graduating in less than 4 years.

He was a consummate detailed list-maker, and this was particularly useful when planning “family adventures.” Over the years, these trips involved camping in tents, pop-up trailers, and RVs, as well as staying in cabins and the occasional Holiday Inns in almost every one of the states and national parks. At hotels, all eight members of the family slept in one room. Meals were usually small cereal boxes for breakfasts and cans of beef stew heated on two very small sterno stoves. Not ever having the resources for air travel for all eight of them on vacations, he was limited to domestic destinations, except for one penultimate and unforgettable trip. His bucket list had long included a trip to Acapulco, and he finally took 3 weeks off from work and drove the family in a van from Chicago to Acapulco (and on the way back, since they were ahead of schedule, they stopped at Disney World). This trip was filled with many funny moments, and his sons still fondly reminisce about them. He was never happier than when he could get his growing family together for parties and trips, and when his sons got married and had their own children, “family reunion adventures” became a new source of enjoyable, amusing and memorable journeys. To many destinations, the entire family traveled in a caravan of cars, communicating with constant humorous comments on CB radios in each of the cars.

Throughout his life, he was always intrigued with new technology, and, along the way, he bought one of the first Apple computers, microwaves, programmable calculators and the like. Every Christmas included interesting and innovative toys for his children. Even into his early 90’s, he was still playing with new technologies, and he could easily pull up his investment portfolio spreadsheet from the cloud on his cell phone.

After Eleanore died in 2000, he helped start one of the first Catholic Social Grief Groups for widowers called Anew, and he served as a Board member for many years. He also helped

organize similar grief groups in other Catholic parishes over the years. It was at one of these group meetings where he met his future second wife, Peg Fortini.

He and Peg married in 2005 and settled in Prospect Heights, IL, where their door was always open to neighbors and impromptu family gatherings. Peg’s family quickly indoctrinated him into Italian cooking, becoming a Chicago Cubs fan, and babysitting Peg’s three nearby granddaughters, finally getting a chance to enjoy watching girls grow up after watching his own boys grow up. He and Peg shared their love of music, books and serendipitous field trips, capitalizing on his expertise at uncovering future vacation spots and new places to explore. Their travels took them to France and all but one of the United States, never reaching Alaska. Between their travels and family events, he continued to hone his lifelong passion for fixing, building and improving all things around the house.

He is survived by his wife, Peg, after the death of Eleanore in 2000, his sister, Dorothy, and his 6 sons, John (Susie) Bors of Woodside, CA, Paul (Kim) Bors of Lake Forest, IL, Bill (Peg) Bors of Sarasota, FL, Dan (Gloria) Bors of Maple Glen, PA, Mike Bors of Green Bay, WI, and Dave (Diana) Bors of Lisle, IL.

He had 12 grandchildren, Chris, Jackie, Richard, Robert, Kathryn, David, Michael, Andrew, Kevin, Jonathan, Hannah and Kyle, as well as 10 great grandchildren, Chris, Oliver, Penelope, Emilia, Evelyn, Eloise, Chase, Graham, Callan, and Lily. He was also a fond step-father of Jen (Tom) Grimmer, Chrisy (Scott) Bouchard, Dom (Jenna) Fortini, and Gina Fortini.

He was preceded in death by Eleanore, his parents, and his brother, Carl, as well as Julie Bors (Mike’s wife) and Michael Bors (son of Bill and Peg).

Visitation will be 9:15 am until 10:45 am on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at Kolssak Funeral Home, 189 S. Milwaukee Avenue (2 blocks south of Dundee Road) Wheeling, IL 60090.

After the visitation, a Funeral Mass will be held at 11:30 am at St. Edna Catholic Church, 2525 N Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL. Following the Mass, an interment will be made at All Saints Cemetery, 700 N. River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016.

A reception will follow the funeral services where family and friends are invited to gather and share memories.

As Robert was particularly fond of three of his grandchildren who were affected by Muscular Dystrophy, in lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Chicago at MDA, Attn: 2026 Chicago Toast, PO Box 7410354, Chicago IL 60674-0354; 800-572-1717.