Margi Lund Kinney Borg

Margaret June (Lund) Kinney was born June 14, 1937, in Newcastle, Wyoming, where her mother had traveled from Minnesota to have her baby. The family lived on a farm outside of Aitkin MN until Margi – as her six siblings called her – was six, then they moved to Adolph MN in rural Duluth. Margi was a gifted student at Hermantown HS and earned a scholarship to Gustavus Adolphus College where she majored in English, was active in theater, and graduated magna cum laude.

While at Gustavus Margi met Layton Kinney whose car had broken down on his way to a blind date with a nurse in Mankato. He never made it to that date, but he and Margi fell in love and were married July 12, 1958, just after Margi’s graduation.

Margi and Layton lived in the Minneapolis area where she taught ninth-graders proper English, basic French, and intense drama. They welcomed a son, Scott, in 1962 and after their second son, Douglas, was born in 1966 she retired from teaching but would maintain a lifelong commitment to education. In 1967 the family moved to Prior Lake and built the house where they raised their three children – daughter Marna arrived in 1970 – and where Margi would live for the next 58 years.

Prior Lake suited Margi and her family well, and she quickly became deeply engaged in the then-small community. She was elected to the Prior Lake School Board in 1972 and served on the Board for over 25 years, as the school district rapidly grew. Margi believed that education had provided the pathway for her and Layton to expand their opportunities and bring additional meaning to their lives, and she wanted to do whatever she could to extend similar opportunities to the children of Prior Lake and beyond. For several years in the 1980s Margi also served as the president and member of the Minnesota State School Boards Association.

In the community, Margi was active in Meals on Wheels, the Brownies, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, the Optimists Club, Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, and the Prior Lake Players, where she enjoyed supporting and starring roles in a wide variety of plays and musicals. There are dozens of commemorative wine glasses in her home to prove it. She and Layton also joined the Prior Lake Yacht Club in 1968 where they enjoyed hundreds of theme parties on Yacht Club Island.

Eventually the kids graduated from PLHS and moved away but Margi and Layton lived active lives that included traveling all over the US to visit family, friends, and national parks, and trips abroad to explore the world together. She became a grandmother in 1994, and loved nothing more than introducing her five grandkids to the music, books, and movies that she loved as a child and young woman.

Margi’s husband Layton passed away in 2007 at age 73 but she stayed in Prior Lake and had frequent short- and long-term visitors, especially her youngest sister Anne who often lived with her and provided fun, loving companionship. She even carried her passion for theater with her into her 80s, playing a major role in a community play in Alabama where she was wintering with sister Anne.

In 2018, Margi attended her 60-year college reunion at Gustavus and became re-acquainted with her classmate Paul Borg whom she had first met as a 17-year-old freshman. A romance was kindled, and they were delighted to find love again when they were a bit older but still active and certainly young at heart. On July 29, 2019, Margi and Paul shared their commitment to each other in a lovely lakeside ceremony with members of both their families joining in the celebration. She adopted the surname Borg, and they lived as husband and wife for another six years and were constant and faithful companions.

Margi and Paul split their time between Prior Lake (especially the summers) and Olalla, Washington (especially the winters), where Paul had a home and was nearby to his family. During this time Margi developed a close connection with Paul’s children Leah and Jamin and their children and grandchildren, and she became an integral and beloved part of the loving and expansive Borg family. They enjoyed many activities together, including car travel, game-playing and row boating, but mostly they loved meals and gatherings with their cherished friends and neighbors in both Prior Lake and Olalla.

In early 2024 Margi was diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer and given a few months to live, but she had quite a few things remaining on her to-do list and lived over a year more. In September she was able to dance with her kids and grandkids at grandson Bo’s wedding. In December she achieved a big goal by welcoming her first great-grandchild into the world, and she even was able to cuddle with baby Mira in person a couple of months later, which was an unexpected joy for all.

Margaret Lund Kinney passed away peacefully on May 26, 2025, at the lakeside home in Prior Lake that she adored, surrounded by her family. She will be remembered by all who knew her for her kindness, her patience, and her compassion, but also for her ability to be decisive when required and to simply get things done. She was never critical of people, and only occasionally of things.

Margi was preceded in death by her husband Layton Kinney, her parents Elmer and Edith Lund, and her siblings James, Robert, Mari, David and Donald. She is survived by her husband and companion Paul Borg, sisters Anne and Ruth Ellen, children Scott (Barbara), Douglas (Susan) and Marna, grandchildren Rachel (Matt), Ellen (Sam), Bo (Monique), Matthew and Jacob, and great-granddaughter Mira.

A Memorial Service will be held at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church (3611 North Berens Road) in Prior Lake on Thursday, July 10, 2025 with a gathering from 11:00 AM - 12:45 PM and Celebration of Life Service at 1:00 PM with lunch to follow. All are welcome. Pastor Dan Poffenberger will preside, and Margi will be laid to rest at Spring Lake Cemetery.