Ida Borken, downtown denizen, 'fashion diva'

Ida Borken, a former retail fashion saleswoman, worked, lived and shared her life in downtown Minneapolis for more than 50 years.

Borken, who until October, 2006 could be found working at Saks Fifth Avenue, or chatting with her many friends who work downtown, died Feb. 10 in St. Paul of congestive heart failure.

She was 95.

She was a downtown fixture, said her nephew, Michael Witkin of Roseville.

Borken, who had sported red hair since she was a teenager, stood 5 feet tall and was sometimes partial to faux leopard-skin clothes.

"She was so gregarious," said her nephew, who recalled dining with her downtown a couple of years ago.

He remembers one instance when a mother and her teenage daughter, who had numerous body piercings and dyed red hair, sat near Ida.

Borken's boss at Saks, Heidi Gilde of Stillwater, said that even though Borken hasn't worked at the store since 2006, customers were asking after her during the holidays. "She was a little fashion diva," Gilde said. "She absolutely loved clothing."

Gilde said Borken's customer service was impeccable, but she embraced her colleagues as readily.

"She would take customers by the hand, pat it and wish them well with their purchase," Gilde said. "We all loved Ida."

Borken, who graduated from Duluth's Central High School nearly 80 years ago, and had worked in a Duluth department store, moved to the Twin Cities in 1953.

For nearly 30 years, she had an apartment at the old Curtis Hotel. Over the years, she worked at several fashionable women's shops. In her later years, she worked as a greeter and helper at two downtown banks, before taking the part-time job at Saks.

"She was very brave, and ahead of her time," said Anderson.

Borken enjoyed playing the slots at casinos, and had made a few trips to Las Vegas. She is not survived by immediate family.