Florence (Teklinski) Borkowski, a longtime resident of New Britain, CT, passed away on Sunday, September 30, 2018 just one month after her 93rd birthday. The youngest of six children of Stanislaw and Leokadia (Jalmuzna) Teklinski, Florence was a lifelong practicing Catholic and a member of Holy Cross Church. Along with her sisters Genevieve, Jessie and Helen and brothers, Charles and Henry, she was educated in local New Britain schools and was fluent in both English and Polish. As a High School student during World War II, she was employed part time at the Fafnir Bearing Company. Upon graduation, she began her lifelong work as a telephone operator for Southern New England Telephone retiring after over 35 years of service. She remained active as a Telephone Pioneer until her passing, continuing many lifelong friendships with her telephone company friends. Florence married Henry Borkowski in October, 1951. This was followed by the birth of son, Stephen and daughter, Catherine. In 1956, they moved to their home on Slater Road which they built together. For the next 61 years, they lovingly maintained and developed the home and gardens on this property. They took great joy in sharing the bounty of Henry’s garden and the baked goods and jellies from Florence’s kitchen with friends and neighbors. Never would you leave Florence’s home without a treat in your hand! Florence had a great love of the beach and upon retirement, she and Henry traveled to Hawaii and Alaska. They spent many wonderful times on Cape Cod and in Westerly, RI enjoying the company of their grandchildren, who were the light of her life. In July, 2017, Florence and Henry moved to The Elms Retirement Residence in Westerly, RI very near their daughter, Catherine and her family. Florence is survived by Henry, her husband of 67 years, her son Stephen of Provincetown, MA her daughter Catherine and her husband, Dr. Paul Benoit, and their three children, Alexander, Marguerite and Abigail Benoit. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews in both the Teklinski and Borkowski families. We, her family and friends, do not mourn for Florence but instead have gratitude for her long life and her strong example of loving Mother and Babci and enduring friend. A Funeral Home Service will be held on Friday October 5th at the New Britain Memorial-Donald D. Sagarino Funeral Home 444 Farmington Ave. New Britain at 2:00 pm. Visitation will be Friday from 1-2pm at the Funeral Home. Burial will be held privately at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to St. Edmund’s Retreat, 1 Enders Island, P.O. Box 399, Mystic, CT 06355. For directions and online condolences, please visit newbritainsagarino.com
