John Wesley Horton

John Wesley Horton, 72, of Newark, Delaware, died of heart failure on September 23, 2025.

John was born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1953 to John Owen Horton and Mary Horton née Aufiero. John attended school in Little Falls and Chatham, New Jersey. His early love of art grew into him studying and receiving Bachelors of Arts in both Visual Arts and Music Composition at Franconia College in New Hampshire. John worked throughout his career in digital arts and information technology, ending his time in the workforce as a Program Management Officer in the U.S. Department of Defense, but continued to maintain his love of music and art via numerous visual pieces and musical compositions throughout his life. Even after the passing of his longtime friend and collaborator Rick Arend, John maintained and updated the works of their duet, Rajh, bringing their work to new digital platforms and audiences.

John's children with his first wife, Eileen, were raised in Howell, New Jersey. John and Eileen imbued in them a deep sense of independent thinking, creativity, and love for others. Subsequently, John's second wife, Robina, and her children, Jico and Maria, became a loving part of his life for more than two decades. John's empathy and open-minded view of the world helped to build for all of them a loving home in Newark, Delaware. The curiosity about this world he has imparted to each of them, and indeed, to all of the many people that he has touched in his life, built in each of them a sense of wonder and amazement about all of that which surrounds us. His grandchildren will be forever enriched with the lessons their family has learned from John. For it is from the sea of this universe that we are propelled up as droplets into a great mist of humanity. We rise and we fall, catching the light and the wonder for a moment, shimmering and reflecting it on all we surround, until the gravity and the mass of everything beckons us return.

John was a devoted husband and father who cherished time spent with his family and friends. He will be remembered for his thoughtfulness, kindness, humor, dedication to family, love of nature and animals, and his curious mind. John was always up for a spirited conversation about politics or current events. A true adventurer at heart, John loved traveling the world with his wife, exploring different cultures and creating lasting memories

John was preceded in death by his father John and his mother Mary of Chatham, NJ and is survived by: His wife Robina Horton of Newark, DE, his sons Justin Horton of East Windsor, NJ, and Joseph Horton of Howell, NJ, his son and daughter-in-law Timothy Horton and Bertilla Horton of Mount Holly, NJ, his daughter and son-in-law Erin and Peter Chacanias of Old Bridge, N.J. and their daughter Charlotte; his step-son Jico Aure and his wife Feng Ying, of Newark, DE, as well as their children Kaley and Penny, and his step-daughter Maria Aure of Florida; his sister Martina Avalina of Florida, his nieces Shannon Elysea of New York and Emily Billings of Florida, his nephew Jesse Swaringen of New Jersey.