James "Jim" Emerson Borden

James "Jim" Emerson Borden – 91, of Kentville (formerly of Lower Canard), Kings County, NS, passed away peacefully on Friday, November 20, 2020 in the Valley Regional Hospital, Kentville, NS. Born in Lower Canard, he was the son of the late Scott and Estelle (Eaton) Borden.  He was predeceased by his loving wife of 55 years, Marjorie Annetta (Bishop). He was the last surviving member of his family’s generation.

Jim is survived by daughter, Carolyn (Garry) Livingstone and grandson Matthew (Rachel) of Ottawa, ON; daughter, Eleanor (Leland) Crowell of Bedford, NS and grandson, Scott (Michelle) and great-grandson, Emerson of Rothesay, NB and grandson, Drew (Kendra) and great-grandson, Lawson of Bedford, NS.

He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by family, many friends and the Valley’s agricultural community.

Jim attended Kings County Academy in Kentville and graduated from the Farm Course at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro in 1950. He returned to "Blomindon View Farm" (family farm) where he farmed with his brother, Charlie and father, Scott for 15 years. Responsible for weed control on the family farm, Jim did custom weed spraying for many Kings County farmers, and county roadside weed control.

In 1965, Jim continued to farm on his own and became a select Seed Grower of OPAL wheat and Volla Barley. Jim joined the Minas Seed Co-op in Canning and became its President, as well as President of the Maritime Branch of the Canadian Seed Growers Association. In 1969, Jim became Farm Manager at Lyndhurst Farms in Canning. During this time, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA) as Maritime representative. He was later elected to the executive and was first Vice President when he retired to become a dealer for DeKalb Corn Seed Inc. In 1980, he retired from active farming to become Maritime Sales Manager for DeKalb Corn Seed Inc. and Nova Scotia sales manager for Bishop Seeds of Belleville, Ontario.  Jim was always an excellent source of information for grain forages and corn varieties and chemical weed control.  He was always available to any farmer or organization that needed assistance with seed selection and planting.

Jim served on many committees and held leadership roles in many organizations in the agricultural community in the Annapolis Valley and the Maritimes. He served as President of the Kings County Federation of Agriculture, the Kings County Soil and Crop and the Nova Scotia Soil and Crop Improvement Associations.  He was a Director on the Nova Scotia Crop Development Institute and the Nova Scotia Forage Council.  He served three years on the Research Advisory Committee to the Agriculture Canada Research Station, Charlottetown, PEI.  Jim was made Honorary Member of the Nova Scotia Institute of Agrology in 2000 in recognition of the significant contributions and advancement he made to the agriculture industry throughout his career. He retired that same year.

Jim served as Chairman of the Wellington Marsh Body for 20 years.  He was the foremost authority on the history and maintenance of the dyke lands of Kings County and gave many presentations to historical and community groups about the historical importance of the dyke lands and how they shaped agriculture in Kings County.

Jim will be forever remembered for his honesty, and warm and hospitable personality.

Donations in memory of Jim may be made to the Valley Regional Hospital, Kentville, NS in recognition of the outstanding care he received over the past two years.

Out of concern for Dad’s friends’ safety, the family has decided that due to the ongoing pandemic, a private family service and burial will take place in Elm Grove Cemetery, Steam Mill.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville. For those who wish to leave an online condolence, please visit www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.