ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140043
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
When Hubert Horne came to Christiansburg in 1940, his possessions fit under one arm.
Sunday, eight days shy of his 74th birthday, he died at home. In the interim, both Horne and the business he ran became local institutions.
He is remembered by family, friends and co-workers as a selfless man: one of the silent gears that helps make a community tick. He made quiet donations to needy families and anonymously sponsored college educations. Horne also volunteered for almost 50 years with the Christiansburg Rescue Squad.
Horne is survived by his wife of 52 years, Louise Slusher Horne, his son, Dickie Horne, and other relatives.
In 1940, Horne was 17 and fresh out of Lebanon, Va., when he started working for Richardson & Company, a Christiansburg funeral home that grew out of Evans and Flanagan, a local hardware store.
Horne would eventually add his name to the business and run it, but first he served in World War II and studied at the Cincinnati College of Embalming.
When he returned in 1947 he started working full time at the funeral home. Ten years later, he became a partner. In 1972, he bought the rest of the business. In 1974, the name Horne was added to company name. His son, Dickie, now runs the funeral home.
Eddie Trump worked for Horne 26 years. It started as a summer job at age 16 cutting grass at Sunset Cemetery. When the summer ended, Horne offered Trump part-time work in the funeral home. Horne then paid for Trump to attend the same Cincinnati mortuary school he had attended. Trump is now vice president of the company.
Trump: "Mr. Horne was a fine man; a one-in-a-million type person. We were always more family than employees. Anything we needed he took care of."
For example, if Trump was shaken after delivering an emotional funeral service, he said Horne would slide him a few dollars and tell him to go have a nice dinner.
Trump said Horne also liked a good joke, especially practical ones.
"I guess there's not one person who worked for him that wasn't sent to the hardware store looking for a 'board stretcher,'" he said. "Of course, there is no such thing and we always came back feeling like a fool and he'd get a real good-natured chuckle out of the fact he'd just gotten us."
Dan Myers is a friend of the family and a former employee, having worked at the funeral home for eight months in 1976. Myers, 43, now sells real estate in Christiansburg.
When Myers was about 10, a close relative died. The funeral was held at Richardson-Horne, which gave Myers had a chance to see what Horne did best.
"Hubert talked to our family," he said. "He just made me feel a whole lot better about the situation; not that I understood it any better, but his smile and mannerisms and the things he said just made you feel real comfortable.
"I've worked with the public all my life, and Hubert taught me more about being compassionate and considerate than anything else I could have ever done. I wish my children could meet someone like that at some point in their lives."
Horne's funeral is Wednesday, at noon, at the St. Paul United Methodist Church, 220 W. Main St., Christiansburg.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot - Horneby CNB