Margaret Louise Borckardt

Margaret Louise (Smith) Borckardt, 88, of McKinney, Texas, passed away at Victoria Gardens of Allen on October 20, 2012, after a brief illness. Born at Troy, Ohio on August 24, 1924, she was the youngest of four children of Walter and Emma (Moore) Smith, and wife of Jack Borckardt, whom she married at Troy in 1947. Her late husband was an ordained Presbyterian minister and, later, a speech professor at Findlay College (now the University of Findlay) in Ohio.
During 52 years of marriage, Mrs. Borckardt and her husband lived in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan (upper and lower peninsulas), and Tennessee, and she later resided in New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Texas.
Margaret was valedictorian of the 1942 graduating class of Staunton (Ohio) High School and a 1946 graduate of Miami University (Ohio). She earned a masters degree in special education from Bowling Green State University in 1971, and taught special education at Blanchard Valley Center in Findlay from 1966 until retiring in 1990.
She volunteered with a number of organizations, including six months at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, AK. She was active in Presbyterian church affairs in various states, including service as a deacon and elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown, Tennessee. Most recently as a member of the First Presbyterian Church of McKinney, she was an elder for the Congregational Life Ministry. She was active in Women's Bible Study, Children's Spring Fling, church school teaching, and teaching English as a second language.
She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Texas Retired Teachers Association, the League of Women Voters, the Blanchard Valley (Ohio) Teachers Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the Professional Association for Retardation in Ohio.
Predeceased are her parents and husband, her brothers, William and James Calvin Smith, her sister, Alice Shaeffer, and son, James Borckardt. Survivors include her son, Mark Borckardt (Mary) of Allen, Texas, and grandchildren Mathew, Michelle, and Melissa Borckardt. Also surviving are nieces and nephews.
Devoted to her family and friends, she was kind, loving, and compassionate, and will be missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service at First Presbyterian Church of McKinney is pending, with arrangements by Charles W. Smith and Sons Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Special Olympics Texas (7715 Chevy Chase Dr., Suite 120, Austin, TX 78752, www.sotx.org).