Parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Malverne, as well as thousands of former students and fellow teachers at Willow Road Elementary School in Franklin Square, mourned the loss of Jane Horning, who many considered to be a true pillar of the local community. She died on Oct. 28 after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 86.
Those who knew Horning said that she dedicated her life to the service of others, as she would always go out of her way to help people, even to the point of pushing her personal goals aside to help others achieve theirs. As a teacher at Willow Road School in Franklin Square, Horning excelled in not just teaching, but also reaching the students in her care, constantly ensuring that even the shyest students felt comfortable in the classroom and at school.
In November 1965, when her brother-in-law was tragically killed in a work-related accident over Thanksgiving weekend at just 29 years old, Horning willingly sacrificed all her time and comfort to move in with her sister full time, and with no children of her own, she quickly became a second mother to her sister’s five children, who were all under the age of 6 at the time.
Horning’s life was seemingly filled with these kinds of unexpected challenges, yet she rose to the occasion each and every time — often without being asked — to do whatever she could to help her family, students, friends, and her fellow parishioners at OLL.
Countless stories have poured in since Horning died from students and fellow parishioners alike, all of whom testify to the impact she had on them, none of which came as any shock to her sister, brother-in-law, friends, or her many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and even great-great niece and nephew, so many of whom knew her as simply “Aunt Jane.”