Wallace Horne Jr was born on December 4, 1933 in Nyack, New York. Wally, as he was known, was the second of three children born to Wallace Horne Sr and Ruth Caroline Horne. Ruth, his sister, was 4 years older and his brother, Charlie, was 4 years younger. Wallace Sr contracted tuberculosis and was hospitalized for 6 years before passing away. During that time Wally and his siblings were raised by different family members, as his mom worked hard to make ends meet. 

Most of those six years, Wally spent with a great aunt, whom he considered to be the most jovial, caring and fun-loving person he had ever known, Aunt Lu. They lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey, a place Wally loved. 

A couple of years after his father had passed, Wally‘s mother, married Stanley Samson and the whole family was reunited in Stratton Vermont. A little sister, Kathy, joined the family 3 years later. 

Shortly after Kathy was born Wally moved to Townshend to attend Leland and Gray seminary and board at Mrs. Dauchy’s to help care for her large home and help with her husband who had suffered a stroke. 

Wally never really returned home. His summers were spent working for the International Paper Company, assisting company surveyors in the woods and boarding in other towns in Vermont and New York. Upon graduation Wally was awarded a four-year scholarship to Linden State Teachers College in upper Vermont. With the Korean Conflict rising and his draft date right around the corner, Wally decided to enlist in the Air Force to become an air traffic controller.

This move launched him on a trajectory that radically changed his lifestyle and life direction. After serving in Korea, he was stationed in Japan. It was here that he became acquainted with the “Navigators“ through a group of Navy Seabees. These men helped him begin to embark on a relationship with Christ.

In 1955 Wally returned to the United States. His next assignment was Tinker AFB near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He continued to grow in his abilities and love for air traffic control.

In the fall of 1955 he met Rebecca Ann Littlejohn and fell in love. Upon leaving the Air Force in 1956, he and Rebecca were married and moved to Montpelier, Vermont, where he had a job, waiting at the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the predecessor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In 1957 he was  transferred to Chicago, IL. 

It was there that their first child, Melinda, was born in November of 1957. The next transfer was to Quincy, IL where Karen,  was born in 1959. In 1961 Wally was asked to teach at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, OK. It was there 5 years later, in 1966, that Suzanne was born. While getting ready to move the family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was offered the deputy chief position at the FAA, Wally and Rebecca divorced.

He found himself starting over at the age of 41.  Towards the end of 1974 in Tulsa, he met a social worker, Susan Tate. She also had previously been married for many years and had 2 daughters, Lorraine and Caroline. In the fall of 1975 they were married. Wally and Sue continued in Tulsa at the FAA until his retirement in 1988. In 1989 they relocated to Vancouver, Washington. They really enjoyed living there in Fairway Village. 

After battling dementia for years, Sue passed away in 2020.  Wally relocated to Los Angeles, CA to live with his eldest, Melinda and her husband, Neil. Wally spent the last three years of his life spending much more time around his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, something they all enjoyed. 

Wally went to be with the Lord on September 24, 2023. 

He is survived by his sister, Ruth Couchey and her children Brian (Suze) Couchey, Laura (Tony) Abate; his niece, Cindy (Dennis) Shearer; his nephew, Michael(Nancy) Weston; his niece, Tammy (Carey) Hines; his daughter, Melinda (Neil) Walker and their children Jennifer (Wade), Micah, Jeremy (Katy) and Samuel (Alyssa) and their 13 grandchildren; his daughter, Karen (Steve) Baysinger and their children Amy (Chuck), Justin (Yuko), Andrew (Kehokule’alani) and their 11 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild; his daughter, Suzanne (JR) Rodgers and their children Blake, Krystle, Lexi and their 3 grandchildren; step-daughter, Lorraine Wilkinson and her children, Mandy, Catherine and Mary; and step-daughter, Caroline  Higgs and their children Scott, Kimberly and Stephanie.