Ronald C. Horn (1931 - 2020)
Ronald Charles Horn, born to Elmer J. and Otillia D. (Breit) Horn on March 29, 1931 in Fulda
Minnesota, unexpectedly passed away peacefully at his home in Rancho Bernardo, California
on August 27, 2020.
Ron graduated as high school valedictorian in Fulda, MN before going on to study accounting
for a year at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. There he met and married Helen
Nelson who also grew up near Fulda. They moved to San Diego where Ron enlisted in the
U.S. Navy. While in the navy he mastered electronics and radar maintenance on board a
seaplane tender during the Korean War. His first child, Christine, was born at the Naval
Hospital in 1953. After his service, the young family moved to Minneapolis where two more
daughters were born, Lizabeth in 1957, and Melanie in 1958.
He earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota,
and then entered the Aerospace industry. Ron worked for Rosemont, General Dynamics, and
Bird Corporation which took him back to California. He eventually landed at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, at the University of California at San Diego, as a research
engineer which became his engineering home.
During this time in California, Ron and Helen divorced and he later married Karen Foxworthy.
They welcomed their son Ronnie in 1964, and they moved to Palm Springs where he worked
in the aviation services industry and learned to fly airplanes. Ron proudly owned a red
Beechcraft Staggerwing. Every landing in that challenging aircraft was an adventure, but
perhaps the most exciting experience was flying Red Skelton, one of his favorite comedians,
to Los Angeles. He enjoyed flying throughout his life, eventually retiring his pilot's license in
his later years.
A man of many interests and talents, Ron decided in midlife to attend the seminary and moved
to Illinois, where he studied to become a minister. He and Karen parted ways, and later he met
Deanna Burris. They were married and moved to Minnesota where they settled in the Twin
Cities area and started a family with the birth of his youngest child, Ronda, in 1971. Ron was
ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church and attended the chaplaincy program at the
North Memorial Medical Center, and eventually created the chaplain program at Golden Valley
Health Center. Always an engineer at heart, before most people even knew about computers
he built one in his basement--a homebrew machine he named R2D2. Ron was a master
tinkerer in every phase of his life.
When Ron and Deanna ended their marriage, the Pacific Ocean called him back, and he
returned to San Diego and married Bonnie Haedecke, a nurse he met while working at the
Golden Valley Health Center. He split his time as a senior design engineer, again at Scripps,
and as a Pastor at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Poway. In 1984, under the leadership of Vic
Anderson, he designed a remotely operated seafloor search and work vehicle called RUM III, a
highlight of his engineering career.
After retiring in 2000, he enjoyed traveling across the United States in an RV for a year. After
Ron and Bonnie amicably separated, he settled in Rancho Bernardo, and became the director
of the Play Readers Theater at the Joslyn Senior Center and made steadfast friends there
until his peaceful passing.
Ron is survived by his sister Carol Lehman, wife/friend Bonnie Ann (Haedecke) Horn, and
former wife Deanna Lynn (Burris) Hedderich; his children and their spouses Christine Tarski
Mapes (Robert), Lizabeth Mitchell Maris, Melanie Lynn Willey, Ronald Charles Horn II
(Debbie), and Ronda Lynn Sherman (Jay); grandchildren Mishelle, Natalie, Leslie, Adam,
Jessica, Maxwell, Jedd, Sarah, Ethan, Miriam, Rebecca, Finn, Nolan and Drew;
great-grandchildren including Claire, Nathan, Julian, Skylar, Ivy, Ophelia, Kalli, and Jalen;
and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his close friends from his Play
Readers group including Ruth, Merrill, Bob, Maureen, Reg, Sharon and Jim. And of course,
his beloved Beech Staggerwing (preserved at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum,
www.beechcraftheritagemuseum.org)
Ron is predeceased by his parents Elmer and Tillie, his older brother Bob and sister-in-law
Helen, brother-in-law Howard Lehman, former wife Helen (Nelson) Corey, former wife Karen
(Foxworthy) Horn, and soulmate Janet Davis.
Family, friends and others whose lives Ron touched are invited to the Poway Bernardo
Mortuary, in Poway, CA for a visitation on Tuesday, September 8th from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
with the funeral service to follow. Private burial to take place at a later date at Miramar
National Cemetery. Flowers can be sent to the funeral home at 13243 Poway Road, Poway
CA 92064. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Ed Brown Center for Active Adults
(formerly the Joslyn Senior Center) or www.PlasticBank.com devoted to empowering the
world to stop ocean plastic.
Ron was dearly loved by his family and friends, and will be deeply missed. Namaste