Rev. David Horton
We are sad to announce that one of our long-term supporters and emeritus board member Rev. David Horton passed away. David Horton is a retired American Baptist minister and denominational worker living with his wife, Mary, in Arizona. He became interested in the ministry of Friends of Burma when attending a Bible class that Neil taught. David has visited Burma on two (1999 and 2007) different occasions. He has worked to get sponsors and support for orphans in six different facilities. Securing medical supplies and equipment for the KBC Hospital (aka clinic) has been one of his high priorities. May he rest in peace!
Long Bio:
David E. Horton of The Terraces in Phoenix, Arizona died April 7, 2020. Born December 10, 1931 in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Thomas E. (Ed) and Bernice M. (Bair) Horton, he served God and others faithfully throughout his life.
Dave grew up in Fort Wayne, graduating from Northside High School in 1949 and Fort Wayne Business College two years later. He served in the U.S. Air Force during 1952-56, including as a navigator stationed with the Military Air Transport Service in post-war Japan and traveling throughout Asia. In 1957, he married Doris J. Tindall of Trenton, New Jersey, and started his family with the births of daughter Bethany in 1964 and son Mark in 1965. After military service, Dave also heeded God's call and attended Eastern Baptist College and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in suburban Philadelphia and was ordained as an American Baptist (ABC) minister. He later received a doctorate in ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. After retirement, Dave and Doris lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Green Valley, Arizona until Doris’s death in 2008. Dave was married in 2009 to Mary Frances Ward, and lived in Green Valley until moving to The Terraces in Phoenix in 2013, where he lived out his life.
Dave made a lasting positive impact across the country and the world through his ministry in God's service. He served churches and communities in Cardiff, New Jersey; Saginaw, Grass Lake, and Jackson, Michigan; Pueblo, Colorado; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Green Valley and Phoenix, Arizona. He traveled on mission trips to El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Myanmar. He is remembered by parishioners and friends as warm, kind, caring, dedicated, and energetic. He became involved with the Amish and the Burmese immigrant community in Indiana and was instrumental in the “Friends of Burma” organization. He traveled to Myanmar numerous times, helping in efforts to build a hospital. He counted many Burmese around the country among his friends (and family). He was linchpin of a special relationship between the Horton and Hilty families of the Amish community of Berne, Indiana. He was a pillar of the Valley Presbyterian Church of Green Valley and a member of the Valley Presbyterian Church of Scottsdale.
Dave was predeceased by his parents, his sister Carolyn, and his first wife Doris. He is survived by his wife Mary Frances of Phoenix, his daughter Bethany Klingensmith (Jim) of Colorado Springs, and his son Mark Horton of Bethesda, Maryland, as well as his grandchildren Thomas, Peter, and Anna Horton, his sister Shirley of Fort Wayne, his brother Steve (Gina) of Naples, Florida, his nieces Linda (Bruce), Lisa, and Laurie and his nephew Matthew. He was deeply loved and will be dearly missed.
