Joyce Horn

1930 – 2012

Joyce Ann Horn, long-time resident of Mercer Island, passed away peacefully the evening of March 5, 2012 surrounded by her family. She was beloved by all who knew her.Joyce spent every day devoted to her family, working hard to make a lovely home for them. Her grandchildren meant so much to her and she spent endless hours helping them and taking them to practices or school events. Joyce was born in Easton, Illinois in 1930 to Oletha and Gerald Blunt and was endowed with strong Midwestern values of honesty, hard work, and keeping your word. If you agreed to meet at 6 AM to help with a fund drive, she’d be waiting even if you arrived at 5:50AM. Joyce graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1952 and married Jim Horn that same evening. The next year, when Jim was in the Army serving in Korea, Joyce taught school in Easton, Illinois. As Jim’s career moved up the ladder, they lived in Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, California, Washington, Florida, and back to Washington, arriving at their new home on Mercer Island where she and Jim have lived for 44 years. Joyce was a spirited supporter of the community and participated in all of its issues. She knew the details of Mercer Island’s history, its geography, and the people who live there. You’d often see Joyce outside the post office engaged with a fellow citizen talking over the inner workings of the city or school district. Joyce was a long-time member of the Mercer Island Lions club, being the first woman “King Lion” in the club and winning the highest Lions Award, the Melvin Jones Award for Humanitarian Services. She was very active in Republican politics. She was the Aide to Senator Emilio Cantu in Olympia, president of the Mercer Island Republican Women, and was the right-hand of her husband during his long career as a State Representative and State Senator. She did have a little time to pursue her avid interest in genealogy, including going to Salt Lake City for the Genealogy Library where she took pages of notes using her beautiful penmanship. Jim and Joyce had wonderful adventures cruising Puget Sound in the Carpe Diem II, including the annual Bayliner Regatta in Friday Harbor. Joyce always wore her life jacket because she couldn’t swim. She liked to tell the funny story about how every student had to pass a swimming test to graduate from Illinois Wesleyan and each year, from Freshman to Senior, she failed it – but she was such an outstanding student, they gave her a pass and let her graduate anyway! She is survived by her husband Jim, son Brad,daughter Lisa, and granddaughters Brittney, Lindsey, and Nicole. Mercer Island won’t be the same without Joyce. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, March 23, 2:00PM at Sunset Hills Funeral Home, 1215 145th Place SE, Bellevue (425-746-1400). Directions: www.sunsethillsfuneralhome.comIn lieu of flowers contributions can be made to theMercer Island Lions Club, Illinois Wesleyan University, or to the American Cancel Society. Please visit Joyce’s memory webpage at www.sunsethillsfuneralhome.com/

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