Livia Elissa Borkowski

Livia Elissa Ferranti Borkowski, loved for 101 years, passed away on August 13, 2023.
Born January 13, 1922, and raised in Pottsville, PA, Livia was the daughter of Italian immigrants, Luigi
Ferranti and Caterina Guerra Ferranti. Her father was a coal miner who died shortly after her birth. She
was the youngest of seven children of which only four survived to adulthood.
After caring for her dying mother, she graduated from the Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing and
joined the US Army Nurse Corps as a Registered Nurse. In WWII, she made seven crossings of the
Atlantic Ocean, embarking from the Port of New York to various ports in Europe carrying troops,
German POWs, GI brides, and American dependents. After her discharge from the Army in August 1946
she attended the University of Pittsburgh on the GI Bill. She moved to live with relatives in the
Chambersburg section of Trenton and it was there she met and in 1949 married Robert Borkowski in the
Church of the Holy Cross. In 1954, Robert built a home in Pennington, NJ where they raised their five
children.
Livia was an active member of St. James Catholic Church, Pennington, and the St. James Seniors. When
she moved to Lawrence Township, she was active in the Church of Saint Ann, Lawrence Township, and
Lawrence Township Senior Center. She also volunteered at St Lawrence Rehab Center and served on
the Senior Executive Committee for Lawrence Township. Through the senior clubs, she traveled to
Alaska, and many other places in the US and Europe. One of her last trips was in 2010 to Hawaii which
fulfilled her wish to see Pearl Harbor.
Livia’s work as RN included Mercer Hospital, Hunterdon Hospital, and Atlantic Products. She retired in
1995 from the Lawrenceville School Infirmary.
She is survived by daughter Marie of Lawrenceville; sons Robert of Ashburn, VA, Lawrence (Karen) of
Pennington, Thomas (Angela) of Clinton, NJ, and William (Kelly) of Allentown; NJ, 11 grandchildren, 11
great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews. Livia was preceded in death by her husband Robert
and siblings Angelo Ferranti, Guy Ferranti, and Mary Stella Torrice.
Funeral arrangements by Blackwell Memorial Home, Pennington. Livia requested you contribute to your
favorite charity instead of flowers; and most of all, be good to each other.