J.R. McAllister Borie, shop owner and volunteer

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John Rutherford McAllister “Mac” Borie, 86, formerly of Chestnut Hill, a shop owner and former president of the Chestnut Hill Community Association, died March 19 at Cathedral Village in Andorra.

Mr. McAllister retired from the Burry Division of the Quaker Oats Company in 1986. That same year, he and his wife, Judy, purchased Soffers, a small variety store at 7709 Germantown Ave. They renamed the shop Soffers and Borie and continued in business until 1997, when the economic climate made a store of that size unprofitable.

Mr. McAllister also had served as first vice-president for operations of the CHCA and later as its president from 1985 to 1986.

After selling the store building, he served for 10 years as a volunteer at Chestnut Hill Hospital and then worked part-time for many years as a Visitor Service Representative at the Morris Arboretum, where he greeted members and visitors at the entrance gate, directed school buses and joked with the young visitors who rode them.

Born in Abington, Mr. McAllister was raised in Rydal. He graduated from Episcopal Academy and joined the Marine Corps Reserve, serving during the Korean War.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Martha Wood and Lisa Baccich, both of Chicago; and a sister, Joyce Reath, of New Hampshire. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanne Smith Browning; a daughter, Nina Bonneau; a sister, Ann Freund; and a brother, W.J. Sewell Borie.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 28, at St. Thomas Church, Whitemarsh, Bethlehem Pike and Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. Memorial donations may be made to Morris Arboretum , 100 E. Northwestern Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118. – WF

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