Master Halīm Mubārik (William) was born in Hardīn, Lebanon on 15 July 1907.
He was the son of Jirjis Mubārik Bū Tannūs (b. 1874) and Amīnah Iskandar Nāsīf Abī Dāghir (b. 1887). He had one sibling, an elder brother named Jirjis (b. 1904).
Halīm's father had emigrated to the USA in 1908 and settled in Clearfield, Pennsylvania where he ran a grocery store. A family friend Antūn Mūsà Yazbak, who was returning to Lebanon to marry, was asked to escort the young Halīm, his mother Amīnah and brother Jirjis across the Atlantic upon his return. Antūn's new bride was Halīm's aunt Sīlānah, his mother's sister.
Halīm set out from Hardīn with his mother, brother, aunt and uncle Yazbak and several others from their village bound for Beirut where they would travel to Marseille and then on to Cherbourg where, on 10 April 1912, they boarded the Titanic as third class passengers (joint ticket number 2661 which cost £15, 4s, 11d).
On the night of the sinking Halīm, his mother and brother met up with Antūn and Sīlānah Yazbak who accompanied them on their way to the upper decks where the women and children were able to enter a lifeboat. Antūn Yazbak was lost in the sinking.
Upon their rescue by the Carpathia and eventual arrival in New York, Amīnah and her sons were treated for shock and exposure. Coupled with that Halīm and Jirjis had contracted measles. Following recuperation the party made their way to Pennsylvania to be reunited with family and friends.
Halīm became known in America as William and he and his family settled in Clearfield, Pennsylvania where his father ran a dry goods store. He later gained two further siblings, Roy (1916-1990) and Daniel (1918-1986) but his mother returned to Lebanon in the early 1920s where she died and he and his father and brothers moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
William was married to Pennsylvanian-born Jennie Sarkis (b. 1914), the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, and had three daughters: Evelyn (b. 1930), Lois Ann (b. 1934) and Marlene (b. 1936). The family settled in Observatory near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and William operated his own business. He reportedly disliked talking about the Titanic disaster.
William Borek died in Observatory on 29 August 1975 aged 68. He is buried at Christ our Redeemer Cemetery, Pittsburgh. His widow Jennie died in 2006.
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There seems to have been written very little about this 3 class passenger. I wondered if anybody have got anything about him? He died in Observatory, Pennsylvania August 29 1975. His name had then been changed to William G. Borek. According to his obituary Sept 1 1975 in Pittsburg Post Gazette he left his wife, Mrs Jennie Sarkis Borek, three doughters, Mrs Louis Staub, Mrs Marlene Martrano and Mrs. Jean Jara, three brothers, Daniel, Roy and George, and one grandchild. Burial was in Northside Catholic Cementery, Ross Township. According to the obituary William George was ex-businessman.
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