In Loving Memory
of Robert “Bob” Bordona
Bob Bordona, beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and devoted member of the greater Oakdale area community, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2026, at the age of 89 in his home in Oakdale.
Born at Oakdale Hospital, Bob lived a life guided by compassion, integrity, and generosity. Bob touched countless lives through both personal relationships and dedicated community involvement. He graduated from Riverbank Elementary Schools, then attended Oakdale High School, where he graduated in 1955. At Oakdale High School, he was a student-athlete and a member of the band. He started all four years in Basketball and Baseball. He followed a half-dozen classmates who were student-athletes to La Verne College. The stars aligned for him to meet his wife, Phyllis, at La Verne College. After Bob and Phyllis graduated from La Verne College in 1959, they married in Fresno, CA.
Bob and Phyllis founded Bordonas Oakdale Furniture TV & Appliance Inc. in 1965. This was a second location for the Bordona family business, which Miguel “Mike” Bordona started in 1931 in Riverbank, CA, with his father, Julian, and family. Bob selected Oakdale for the family’s second location because the Hershey corporation was opening a factory, which he thought would make Oakdale boom. Bob’s greatest achievements were measured not in awards or titles, but in the lives he enriched in the greater Oakdale community. Whether it was his perfect attendance for 35 years with the Oakdale Kiwanis Club, coaching soccer, serving as an usher at Church of the Brethren, donating gifts and money to thousands of local events, or helping countless OHS seniors receive college scholarships. Bob and Phyllis were honored this year with the Oakdale Lifetime Achievement Award on February 27 by the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce. Bob loved to golf and cherished the Oakdale Golf and Country Club and his golf buddies for over 55 years. Bob and Phyllis would join the La Verne College annual river raft trip in Montana. In Montana, Bob discovered fly fishing and kayaking. He would teach his son Ron and his grandson Robert how to fly-fish and set up guided fly-fishing trips on the Madison River.
Family was at the center of Bob’s life. Bob is lovingly remembered by his wife of 67 years, Phyllis; son Ron and his wife Carrie; their son Robert, Bob’s prized grandson; sister Frances Jean and brother-in-law Mark Tatarakis; nephew Alan and his wife Betsy Wheeler; Alan’s son Evan Wheeler and family; niece Julia and her husband Dennis Wallstrom; Julie’s sons Ben and Brandon Sankey and families. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Miguel and Frances Bordona; Phyllis’s parents, Perry and Althea Long; and her sister, Myrna Wheeler.
Bob and Phyllis hosted five AFS foreign exchange students. Swiss son Reto Schreppers, wife Bea, and two children, Timo and Ariana. Panama son Roberto Anguizola, wife Miledys, and three boys, Derek, Bryan, and Dylan. Finnish daughter Hanne von Knorring, her husband Niklas, and two children, Sofia and Viggo, Spanish son Tomas Gallego, his wife Ana, and two children, Alejandro and Sara, and New Zealander “Kiwi” daughter Kirsty McIntyre.
A celebration of life will be at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club on July 11 at 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that check donations be made payable to: OJUSD, memo: Bordona Scholarship, and mailed to 168 South Third Ave., Oakdale, CA 95361, continuing the spirit of generosity that defined Bob and Phyllis’s life. Scholarship website link: ojusdstore.graystep.com
Though deeply missed, Bob’s smile and positivity will be the greatest testament to his life. He was always smiling because he got to serve God, family, and his customers every day. Bob Bordona is the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) to his beloved family and friends.
The Oakdale (Calif.) Leader
The Riverbank (Calif.) News
July 1, 2026
