Robert Leonard Horn

Robert Leonard Horn

Robert Leonard Horn, born Milbank, S. D. in March 1915, slept away January 19, 2013. He lived as a child in Reeder, N. Dakota where from the age of nine, he was called upon to adjust the school clocks and bells, mentor the farm equipment store manager in assembling newly-shipped machines and sometimes to explain mechanical principles to teachers. At the age of three, he took apart his jeweler- father's watch to see how it worked and then he put it back together. His mechanical genius led him to be more interested in dreaming about, inventing, and building mechanical gadgets than in attending to the three R's. His unusual talent led to a mechanical engineering career. At age 18 he moved to Seattle where he was on his own with only small change to live on. Sometimes he was hungry and slept in fifty-cent a night flophouses. He got a job making jewelry for a dollar a day. A youth there told him, "You don't have to sleep in a flophouse. Go to the YMCA and you can rent a room for eight dollars a month." The "Y" helped him earn money with running the elevator and working the desk. He hit the jack pot when he got work at the Rainier Club where he could pick up food left untouched by affluent diners. He studied at the YMCA school, got work as a mechanic through a fellow YMCA resident who was of Italian royalty but down on his luck. Bob had given the man his overcoat on a cold night. When the guy got an engineering job in Portland, he also got a job for Bob who saved money to come to the UW in Seattle. In 1941, three months before the Japanese attack on the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, he and Lois Lee Logan were married. He helped build B-17s and other airplanes for the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, but he wanted to be released from industry to join the military. He was accepted by the U.S. Navy Seabees. In the invasion of the Palau Islands he was a BM 1/C in charge of a barge unit. He volunteered to make a dangerous rescue of beleaguered Army troops trapped by the enemy on a cliff over the open ocean and was awarded the U.S.Navy Commendation for his service there. He then trained with the 4th Marine Division for what turned out to be D-Day landings on the enemy-held island of Iwo Jima. When he joined the Seabees, he had not planned on being part of one of the most terrible battles in American history. His unit had 25% casualties. He had close calls but survived. His outfit was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation "for outstanding heroism" at Iwo Jima. Bob was at the base of Mt. Suribachi when a roar went up on the island as the U.S. Flag was raised, twice. He wrote a V-Mail letter to his wife describing the personal experience as a deeply meaningful event that he remembered all his life. During WW II, his wife served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. When the war ended, they returned to Seattle and started a small-boat construction business on Lake Union. This was a short-lived experience and Bob returned to Boeing where he retired in 1977 after 37 years service. He was Chief of Tool Design on the 747, a Gold Card member of Boeing management, and an active member of the Society of Tool and Manufacturing engineers. A highlight of his Boeing career was a year spent in Nagoya, Japan, as Boeing Manager at Mitsubishi Aircraft in 1974-5. He and his wife shared adventurous travel throughout all parts of Japan in their second-hand Galant, visiting in Japanese homes, making many friends and experiencing the unique Japanese culture. Their experience resulted in the book "OUTSIDE PERSON" written by his wife. Bob was a skilled sailor. He designed and created a self-steering vane and other equipment for the Alden motor sailor, "Twanah", and the Cal. 29 sloop, "Konami". With his wife and sons, John and Bill, he cruised Northwest waters for 55 years. Bob and Lois traveled the wide world, visiting 75 countries in their 71-year marriage. In retirement, Bob pursued electronics; designing, building and perfecting robots, making all parts from scratch. He and Lois also worked on re-modeling older homes and investing in rental units. Bob is known for his mechanical genius, soothing temperament, and kind attitude toward others. He will be remembered for these and other endearing qualities. Survivors include his loving wife, Lois; sons, John and Bill; daughter-in-law Joan; grandson, Louis Horn; granddaughter, Claire Horn Fenton and her husband, Justin; beloved great granddaughters, Ramona and Ruby Lee Fenton; his surrogate grandson, Nick SteinkoenIg, and Nick's mother, Beth. A niece, Lynda Logan, and nephews Bruce, David and Mark Logan also survive. Brothers Larry, James and Alan preceded him in death. Alan lost his life at age eighteen when the USS Indianapolis was sunk by Japanese torpedoes weeks before WW II ended. Bob's American roots pre-date the Revolution. He was a lineal descendant of Gen. Wade Hampton who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. His grandfather joined the Union Army at 16 during the Civil War. As he wished, Bob's ashes will be scattered on an ebb tide at Deception Pass. The family wishes to express gratitude to the Columbia Lutheran Home staff for their devoted care of Bob in his last years. If you wish to memorialize Bob, it is appropriate to give to the Columbia Lutheran Home, 4700 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, Wa., 98103.