Dr. Leonard F. Borges, DDS, Retired, 93, passed away peacefully in hospice care on the evening of May 26, 2023, in North Carolina, after a short battle with cancer. Dr. Borges' parents were the late Charles F. and Mary (Machado) Borges formerly of Fall River.

He was born in 1930 at Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River. As a child, he attended Fall River public schools. While attending school, he often helped his father with the operation of the family's neighborhood grocery store. In 1946, he graduated from BMC Durfee High School. After graduating from high school, Dr. Borges was accepted at Tuft's University where he subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1951.

After graduating from Tufts University, Dr. Borges enlisted in the United States Army  and served during the Korean Conflict. He was honorably discharged as a PFC in 1953. While serving in the Army, Dr. Borges married the former Carmen Cabeceiras, who died unexpectedly the following year.

After his discharge from the Army, Dr. Borges went to work as a civil service employee of the U.S. Army's map making service until 1955, when he left to attend dental school in Baltimore, MD. In 1959, Dr. Borges graduated from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, MD. After his graduation, he worked in a dental internship at the Samuels College Dental Clinic at the Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, RI.

In 1960, Dr. Borges began a private practice as a general dentist on Washington St. in Fall River until 1991, when he retired and relocated to Pensacola, FL. Shortly after relocating to Pensacola, FL, Dr. Borges was hired by the U.S. Air Force as a civilian dentist where he served as a civil service general dentist to military personnel assigned to Eglin Air Force Base. Dr. Borges fully retired from practicing dentistry in 1996. In 2009, he relocated to the island of St. Michaels, Azores, Portugal, where he resided until October 2022, when he returned to the United States to live in North Carolina.

Dr. Borges often said that he learned of life's most meaningful lessons while offering dental care to his patients at his Fall River practice, and then while caring for the men and women of the U.S. Air Force and other services at Eglin Air Force Base, Pensacola, FL. Dr. Borges wishes all of them God's blessings.

He is survived by two of his three sons; Leonard F. Borges, Jr. and Charles T. Borges. His youngest son, Christopher Borges, died unexpectedly in 2018. Dr. Borges also had one daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.

In accordance with his wishes, following his cremation in North Carolina, a private committal service with military honors was held at St. Patrick Cemetery in Fall River.

Family members are always grateful for relatives and friends wishing to make in-person expressions of kindness and support. Being unable to do so at this time, all are urged to express sympathy online or by mail. To ensure that said condolences and/or sympathy cards reach the family, please always make sure that submissions online are made directly through the funeral home's website (www.silvafaria.com) and not through a third party. Thank you!