Bill Horning OBITUARY

Bill Horning OBITUARY

Bill Horning, a resident of Poway for fifty-five years, ed away the morning of May 22, 2025. He was born on April 28, 1937 in Lewiston, Pennsylvania. He was the only child of William and Mary Horning. He and his parents moved to Baltimore, MD, where he spent part of his childhood before moving to San Diego in 1947.

Bill graduated from San Diego High School in 1955 and then from San Diego State College (now known as SDSU) where he majored in English. He was a proud member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. While a student he worked at La Cañada Florist, starting out in delivery but quickly becoming one of the designers. Bill never lost the knack for floral design and was thereafter always the one to make flower arrangements for family holiday dinners. Bill married Judy Leasure in 1958. They met at San Diego State where he’d sought her out in the campus cafeteria after she’d impressed him with an answer she gave in a philosophy class. They made their first home together in North Park and then near SDSU before moving to Poway in 1970 with their three daughters.

Bill spent his working years as a technical writer and document control specialist for companies such as General Dynamics, Teledyne Ryan, and General Atomic. In the 1970s he owned the Poway Trading Post, a store that carried southwest art, jewelry, and décor.

He had a lifelong interest in gemology and was a self-taught expert on anything related to rocks and minerals. He and his parents were instrumental in forming the Junior Division of the San Diego Gem and Mineral Society. As a young man he won several blue ribbons for his rock collection at the county fair. In his retirement, Bill spent several years teaching lapidary science to homeschooled students at the San Diego Lapidary Society’s workshop facility, as well as volunteering at the Society’s yearly exhibit at the Del Mar Fair.

Bill was a lover of literature, especially the works of Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut. Even at the time of his ing he was able to recite poetry he’d memorized decades earlier. He taught himself to play guitar and was a fan of Bob Dylan; Woody Guthrie; The Kingston Trio; and Peter, Paul, and Mary. In his younger days, he and Judy would host hootenannies at their house or at the beach where their friends would gather with guitars to sing folk music.

He was known for his quick wit and one-liners, his sweet soul, and gentle heart. He was especially kind and generous toward animals and children. He will be greatly missed.

Bill is survived by Judy, his wife of almost sixty-seven years; his daughters, Lauren (Dennis) Chin, Susan (Bob) Meissner, and Karen Simonich; nine grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren; a brother-in-law, Jim (Fran) Leasure; and many friends.

A private burial will be in Dearborn Cemetery in June with a larger Celebration of Life in August.