Devoted and Faithful Christian Husband, Father, and Businessman
Passed away peacefully on October 15, 2022 at 93 years of age. Loving husband of Olive (Steadman) Horne with whom he celebrated 66 years of marriage. Beloved father of the late Marilyn (Kent) Amstutz of Omaha, NE, Steve (Monica) Horne of Calgary, Alberta, and Mark (Erin) Horne of Arrington, TN. Loving grandfather of Jenee (Ryan) Harmon, Melissa (Lindsay) Amstutz, Stacy (Nathan) Anderson, Christina Horne, Elizabeth Horne, Griffin (Alyssa) Horne, and Amanda (Taylor) Boeve. Great-grandfather to Samuel, Jacob and Lucia Harmon; Jonathan, Brayden, Allison, Lilley and Quinn Anderson.
Gordon was born on September 15, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario to his loving parents Ralph Horne and Mary (Sheppard) Horne. His father was from Bristol, England and his mother was from Toronto. Gordon lived as an only child as his first sibling was stillborn, and his brother, Ralph, died at age one. He received his Bachelors of Commerce from the University of Toronto in 1950 and started his career with Clarkson, Gordon & Co. as a Chartered Accountant in 1951.
He had his first date with his darling wife, Olive, in March of 1953 and was married on May 5, 1956 at Forward Baptist Church in Toronto. After they married, they moved to Simcoe, Ontario where Gordon helped build the local accounting firm, Waters, Savage, Horne & Ronson and later served as VP Finance at RANPRO. They lived and raised their family in Simcoe for 27 years where they were very active and served at Bethel Baptist Church. In 1983, Gordon and Olive moved to Montreal where he became the CEO & President of the Guarantee Company of North America. He retired in 1989.
Gordon was always very active in his local church and cheerfully served with his time and talents. At Forward Baptist Church, he sang in the Forwardaires traveling quartet. During his time in Simcoe, he was a Deacon at Bethel and was also active in global missions outreach, including Christian radio station, HCJB, in Quito, Ecuador and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE). In retirement, he and Olive led the Super Sixties program at First Baptist Church of Waterloo and continued outreach at their final church, Heritage Park Alliance Church in La Salle.
He loved his time with his family, and during his time in Simcoe, the family purchased a cottage on Aylen Lake in northern Ontario with their friends, Bob and Evelyn Laidlaw. The cottage at Aylen remains a special place for family gatherings. Gordon enjoyed his morning swims, sharing meals, playing games, and attending Chapel services where they sang familiar hymns and fellowshipped with other believers/friends. His presence at the lake will be dearly missed.
Special thanks to the terrific team at Seasons Retirement Community in Royal Oak Village for caring for Gordon (and their continuing support for Olive), along with the professional care he received in his final days from the doctors and staff at Windsor Regional Hospital.
If you so desire, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada in honor of his wife, Olive; Cancer Research Society in honor of his daughter, Marilyn; and locally to the United Church Downtown Mission of Windsor and/or Heritage Park Alliance Church in La Salle.
Cremation has taken place. A joyful memorial with family will take place according to Gordon’s wishes, “to celebrate the assurance of his presence in Heaven through his faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”