Lynn Horne, Sr, 94, of Anna Maria Island passed away Sunday January 5th, 2025, at home surrounded by his family, friends, love and laughter.
Born in Canal Point, Florida on October 24th, 1930, to Florence (Flo) Hayes and Valdah DeForest Horn. (The recording official in Palm Beach County inadvertently added the "e" to Horn on the birth certificate and Valdah Horn's son, became Lynn Horne.) He attended school in Palm Beach County, Clay Couty, Ga, Monte Verde Academy in Florida, Emory Jr College in Valdosta, NYU in Manhattan and graduated with a Citrus Degree from Florida Southern College in Lakeland on the GI Bill following his service in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict. He was a 32nd Degree Mason for 65 years.
He met and married Barbara Ann Senn in Bartow, Florida in 1957. The two enjoyed 61 years of marriage splitting time between homes in Bartow, Anna Maria Island and Woodfin Mountain in NC until her death in 2018.
Lynn worked in the Citrus Industry in Florida as a salesman and a citrus grower for over 50 years including twenty-six with Ben Hill Griffin in Frostproof. He was a man of conviction and integrity with growers who trusted his recommendations for generations. He never met a stranger and loved to learn about people and places daily. He had stories that would blow you away the first or the 400th time you heard them. And the story details were always the same. He knew everyone or walked up and introduced himself to them.
He is survived by:
· His two sons: Lynn D Horne, Jr. (Sandy) and John Curtis Horne (Amanda); his 4 nieces aka daughters: Debby Doo (Bill), Kathy Adela (Bubba), Stephy Lee (M David) & Jules.
· Grandchildren Nic (Stephanie), Jake Ann and Trey (Kristin); Great-grandchildren Audrianna Ann "Addy" and Trenton Horne all of whom called him "Purdy."
· He also leaves behind his dear friend and companion Linda (Saint Linda) Schenk.
There are countless others who knew him as Papa Lynn because he was a surrogate for many who needed a wise, sage advisor in their lives, or didn't know they needed sage advice, on fire building techniques, trimming trees and bushes properly, road construction on mountainsides, anything to do with horticulture and so many other topics he offered his advice.
He will be missed terribly by all the Anna Maria Oyster Bar family where he played a key role as French Fry Inspector and initiated all new managers on how to throw a wayward old guest out of the kitchen. He always walked into the kitchen through a back door or wherever and would wander into the kitchen to test the food in the back. So many times, a new manager would come into dining room, having never met "Papa Lynn" saying, "there's some old guy back in the kitchen wandering around, what do I do?" We'd set them up and tell them, "We can't allow that, he might get hurt, throw him out of the kitchen and send him back to the dining room." The look on their faces when he would tell them no, he was fine back there to see all the staff laughing and welcoming the new manager into "the family." He loved his role at AMOB.
A celebration of Lynn's life will be held on Saturday, January 18th 1-4pm at the home of John & Amanda Horne to raise a glass to everyone's "Papa Lynn."
Lynn knew the value of education in everyone's life, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations for our Shuckin' Good Cause to help fund our Dive Into Reading program at: Shuckin Good Cause, 6688 Cortez Rd W, Bradenton, FL 34210.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209, is in charge of arrangements.
