Ross Bordwell

Ross Bordwell, 72, a longtime resident of Palmer, left his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home May 9, 2014, to join the great Mississippi Squirrel Revival in the sky.

Ross was born in 1941 to Alfred Glenn and Mae Rene Bordwell in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was raised in Oklahoma and Texas, and moved with his family to Alaska in the 1950s. As a child and teen, Ross was passionate about radio and electronics, and was a ham radio operator. Ross did not graduate high school, because (depending on which offspring is consulted) he couldn’t transfer his marching band credit to Alaska, he didn’t like a teacher and dropped out, or the FBI was after him, and that’s why he joined the Navy in 1960. He earned his GED in the U.S. Navy, where he honorably served for 5 1/2 years as a radioman.

After his discharge, Ross took his radio expertise to work in the far north of Canada and Alaska. For 15 years, he traveled extensively through the Alaska Bush and the Lower 48 supporting BLM survey teams. In 1987(ish), in order to spend more time at home with his family, he took a job in Anchorage, building BLM’s first servers and technology infrastructure. He was a pioneer in the field of computers and passed to his children his passion for video games, technology, and technology’s neverending potential. In 2008, Ross retired after 40 years of government service, and he and Noni ran away in their Blue Bird coach to live as carnies.

Ross celebrated Alaska’s statehood by leapfrogging parking meters in Fairbanks, wooed Noni with his love of ice racing, rally and autocross, and resolved his personal cold war with Marriage Encounter. He will be remembered for his joy in being alone with nature, bringing hitchhikers home unannounced, expounding upon any given topic for hours on end, and his absolute need for bleeding edge technology. He leaves a legacy of smart-asses, popcorn lovers, roller-coaster riders, and awful puns.

Cremation has taken place, and a celebration of his life was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 13.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating to the Disabled American Veterans online at dav.org/donate. Online guest book at legacy.com/obituaries/adn/