Obituary of Gerald B. VanHorne

IRONDEQUOIT – Friday, December 8, 2023 at the age of 98. He peacefully went home to be with his Lord and Savior with his loving family by his side. Predeceased by his devoted wife of 65 years, Florence E. VanHorne; brother Norman VanHorn; grandsons, Sean VanHorne and Jack Hamilton. He is survived by his loving wife of 6 years, Lois Guy; children, Douglas VanHorn, Thomas (Anne) VanHorne, Mark (Cathy) VanHorne, Suzanne (Joseph) Nicchitta; grandchildren, Michelle (Andrew) Lombardo, Connor Hamilton, Luke (Shannon) Hamilton, Brady Hamilton, Troy Hamilton, Ethan Hamilton, Paige (Chandler) Christa, Andrew Nicchitta, Adam (Tori) Muscarella: great grandchildren, Thomas and Annabelle Lombardo and Nolan Muscarella; nephew Jim (Liz) VanHorn; great nephew and nieces.

He was born in Picton, Ontario, Canada on May 12, 1925 to Orville and Anna VanHorne. He grew up on a farm which is where he developed his carpentry skills. In 1959 he moved with his family to Rochester NY. His first job in Rochester was building new homes. He then accepted a position at Eastman Kodak where he worked for 21 years until retiring in 1986. His last few years at Kodak were in the carpenter shop where he developed lifelong friendships with several of his co-workers. “Retiring” was not an accurate representation of his lifestyle after leaving Kodak. In his retirement years, he and Florence participated in the building of the ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) headquarters in Harrisburg PA. They spent several months living there while Jerry supervised the construction project and Florence volunteered in the kitchen feeding countless teams of workers. He continued using his masterful carpentry skills for a variety of projects until he was in his upper 80’s. Another summer tradition they really enjoyed and talked a lot about was spending a week every year at the Camp of the Woods retreat in the Adirondacks. Jerry loved traveling with Florence in their 5th wheel camper. They visited all but a couple of the 50 states. He also enjoyed ballroom dancing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, boating, fishing and water skiing. He loved spending time at their summer place at Seneca Lake. He was an active member in several Baptist churches where his craftsmanship is still visible today. Together with a church team he participated in a mission’s trip to Ghana, Africa.

The family would like to recognize and thank the Jewish Home of Rochester for the outstanding and compassionate care he received this past year.

His family will receive friends Friday, December 15, 6-8pm at the funeral home (570 Kings Highway So.). His Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, Dec 16, 10:00am at Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church (48 South Estate Dr., Webster). Interment Irondequoit Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church. To share or send the family a condolence, please visit www.harrisfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Philip Profetta.  To view Jerry's celebration of life service, the church will be live streaming and archived in a link on the church website: http://lbbc.info/. Click on media, then click watch live, or click on watch on YouTube if after the service time.