Elmer August Borchers died in St. Charles, Missouri on November 6th of natural causes. He was born in Bethalto, Illinois on April 15, 1916 to Herman and Hulda (Levecke) Borchers. He was preceded in death by his wife Helen (nee Mann), his second wife Ruth (nee Boren) and his siblings John, Marie Scott and Evelyn Puhse/Brown all of Rosewood Heights/Bethalto. He is survived by his son James A. Borchers (wife Lisa) of St. Charles, Missouri, two grandchildren Kathleen Fae Tigerman of Caldwell, ID and Matthew Charlton Borchers of New York, NY and a great-grandson Baruch Harold Tigerman. Elmer retired from the Shell Oil Refinery of Wood River after 35 years of service where, in the 1930's he was on the team that created the first 100 Octane fuel produced in the world. For 30 years he owned and operated the Borchers Nursery, from which he landscaped many building and homes in Madison County. Many of his shade trees can still be seen around the area. He was known for the Blue Spruce he imported from Holland and special varieties of Holly he planted in this area. He generously gifted and planted unique varieties of trees and shrubs for schools, churches and cemeteries in the area. Plants and flowers were his true love, and he was never without them. He taught Bible classes and never missed a Sunday morning service at the churches he attended over the years. He loved to travel with a tent, cooler, portable gas stove and sleeping bags in the trunk, all with family in tow. The itineraries always included stops at well known nurseries to learn about the latest varieties. After his retirement he served as a volunteer prison ministry chaplain, regularly visiting the East Alton jail, the Madison County jail and several state and federal prisons. He was especially dedicated to the Illinois Youth Center - Pere Marquette. He received numerous awards and recognition by the State of Illinois for his service. In all of his 103 years he never met a stranger.  Visitation will be at Paynic Home for Funerals in Rosewood Heights on Friday, November 15th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m followed by a brief service and interment at Rose Lawn Memory Gardens.