Like cranky TV doctor Gregory House, Dr. William H. Borders Jr. of Atlanta was a brilliantly analytical physician, driven to seek answers to medical mysteries. "Only Dad didn't have the House character's foul temper and smart-aleck manner," said his daughter, former Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders.
Dr. Borders was especially skillful at making diagnoses, Ms. Borders said. For example, he was able to detect pancreatic cancer in his mother and lupus in his mother-in-law when their previous doctors couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with them.
"Billy treated his patients with unusual dedication and compassion," said his sister, Dr. Juel Borders of Atlanta. "I recall his working hard to preserve the health of a 109-year-old woman. Her quality of life was as important to him as a child's."
Dr. Borders had a very soothing bedside manner, said Maj. Valerie Dalton, Zone 1 commander of the Atlanta Police Department. "Years ago when I was up from South Georgia studying at Morris Brown College and he was attending physician there, he was a real comfort for me during my hospitalization for a kidney ailment. I had the feeling he was a father figure for those of us Morris Brown students who were far from home."
Besides his 20-year tenure at Morris Brown and his extensive private practice, Dr. Borders also served as medical director of the Fulton County Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center from 1990 to 1997. In addition, he was a much respected adviser to many young African-American doctors as they began their own practices here, said Dr. Calvin McLarin, an Atlanta cardiologist.
Dr. Borders, 77, died Sept. 1 of complications from diabetes at Piedmont Hospital. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College, with Morehouse President Robert Franklin delivering the eulogy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his memory be made to the Morehouse College Office of Health Professionals' Operations Fund. Murray Brothers Funeral Home, Cascade Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
Dr. Borders did his undergraduate work at Morehouse, majoring in mathematics with a minor in biology and chemistry. He was a third-generation Morehouse Man, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He earned his medical degree at Howard University and completed his internship and residency at Freedmen's Hospital (renamed Howard University Hospital) in Washington.
Dr. Borders was a workaholic, Ms. Borders said. His idea of a good read was a medical journal, not a detective novel. When he wasn't treating patients, he kept busy with his church and civic responsibilities.
"As a longtime deacon, Billy was as dedicated to Wheat Street Baptist Church as was his father, the Rev. William Borders Sr., who was pastor there for more than 50 years," said Ben Logan of Atlanta, a lay leader at the church.
Mr. Logan added that Dr. Borders was an effective fund-raiser for the Wheat Street church, the NAACP and his beloved Morehouse College, and was especially good at tapping his medical colleagues for contributions.
Dr. Borders took no vacations, his daughter said, and when his colleagues went on theirs, he routinely looked after their patients. Though he had reached the point where many doctors his age didn't bother with continuing education, he returned again and again to Harvard University and the University of Alabama to stay abreast of the latest developments in internal medicine.
Mr. Logan recalled the one leisure activity Dr. Borders did allow himself was attending Morehouse College football games.
Survivors also include another daughter, Julie Borders of Atlanta; two sons, William Borders III and Eric Borders, both of Atlanta; and four grandchildren.
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