Andrew Hornsby Jr.

1943 - 2025

Andrew Preston Hornsby, Jr., a resident of Montgomery, Alabama, for the past 30 years, passed away on October 24, 2025, at the age of 81.

Born November 14, 1943, in Tallassee, Alabama, Andy was the second of four children. He was the son of the late Judge Andrew Preston Hornsby, Sr., and the late Margaret Moore Hornsby. He was raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, including residing in the living quarters of the Macon County jail during the first eight of the 14 years his father served as Sheriff. His father later served 24 years as Macon County Judge of Probate, and instilled a sense of public service in Andy. He was educated in the public schools of Macon County and graduated from Tuskegee High School with his beloved Class of '61.

After his freshman year at Troy State College, Andy attended Auburn University where he was an active member of the Upsilon Chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1968. In 2008, he was named one of the "40 of 40," which celebrated the 40 most outstanding graduates upon the 40th anniversary of the College of Business.

He served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve and the Alabama National Guard.

Andy spent the bulk of his professional career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in management of food programs, which included stints in Birmingham, Atlanta, Robbinsville, NJ, and Washington, D.C. He rose through the ranks from an entry level employee, eventually becoming a member of the elite Senior Executive Service at the age of 34. He twice won the Department's Award for Superior Service.

In 1991, he was appointed as the Deputy Administrator of the Food Stamp Program by President George H.W. Bush. In this capacity, he headed the nation's food stamp program from 1991-93 also serving under President Bill Clinton.

In addition to federal service, Andy served the State of Alabama for 11 years under three Alabama Governors: Guy Hunt, Jim Folsom, and Bob Riley. He was Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources from 1987-91 and 1993-95.

Andy led the agency's award-winning efforts to reduce the Food Stamp Program's error rate and was the original named plaintiff in the nationally recognized child welfare lawsuit "R.C. vs. Hornsby." The settlement of this case became a model of reform in the nation's troubled child welfare system.

He headed the efforts which led to the conversion of paper food stamps to debit cards, also known as Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). He was awarded the US Treasury Department's Vanguard Award in 1997 for this work. After a dedicated career and retirement from the USDA, Andy served as a vice-president of Lockheed Martin.

Throughout his life, Andy served on numerous boards and commissions including Systems & Methods, Inc. for more than 20 years. He was Chairman of the Board for the Alabama Supercomputer Authority. He served, with much pride in his hometown, on both the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees and the board of the Tuskegee History Center.

His dedication and commitment to his fraternity and his alma mater culminated in his being named Pi Kappa Alpha's "Alumnus of the Year," and serving as president of the Auburn Alumni Association from 2004-06. He was a valuable supporter of both throughout his adult life.

Andy was an outdoorsman. As an avid quail hunter since childhood, a passion that was passed down from his father, he especially loved the camaraderie of family, friends, and birddogs in rural Macon County; he also enjoyed numerous opening day pheasant hunting weekends in South Dakota. He was a long-time owner of horses and cattle; and building, stocking and fishing his pond was a favorite pastime.

Above all else, sharing his second home at Lake Martin and his rural properties with others was a great pleasure.

Andy is survived by the love of his life, his wife of almost 59 years, Wanda Weldon Hornsby. He was a wonderful father to Tammy (Richard) Pazer of Greensburg, PA, and Andrew Preston Hornsby, III, of Montgomery. Other survivors include his grandchildren Chesley Pazer Heagy (Dylan), Richard Victor Pazer, Jr., Margaret Preston Hornsby; great-grandchildren Kaia Lani Heagy, George Walden Heagy, Mary Margaret Heagy, Morgan Marie Heagy, Willa Jean Heagy; and sisters Charlotte McCartney, Jane Kourkoulis, and Susan Crisp.

Throughout his life, Andy showed compassion and integrity; he believed in social justice and racial equality. More than anything, Andy enjoyed his vast number of friends and his extended family. Described as a rock by his family and friends, he was the epitome of a son, brother, husband, father, friend, fraternity brother, public servant and mentor. He enjoyed and shared a life full of friendship, laughter, and love.

Andy was a man of integrity and compassion. He was a consistent, respected and welcomed figure in the lives of so many family and friends.

Family will receive friends beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, 2025, in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church in Montgomery. Funeral Services will follow in the Sanctuary at 1:00 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to The Pi Kappa Alpha House Corporation, PO Box 3310, Auburn, AL 36831, or the Alabama Department of Human Resources Foster Care Trust Fund, PO Box 30400, Montgomery, AL 36130.