My father (Charles Samuel Horn) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1948 and served for over 30 years in the Infantry, retiring at the rank of Colonel. With our mother (maiden name Katherine Mary Stokes) supporting his career, they raised me, my brother Carl, and our sisters Margaret and Katherine, with many adventures in our lifetimes. Dad’s assignments included stateside, Europe, and a tour in Vietnam.
Upon retiring, he and Mom moved to their newly acquired 125-acre “New Trafford” farm in Madison County, VA, to raise horses and cattle. While they lived there - from 1975 to 1993 - Mom trained and competed in Dressage horse riding and was in a local garden club. Both were members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Orange, VA, where Dad sang in the choir.
Mom and Dad continued to travel the world, including where my brother and I were each stationed with the Army and where our sisters lived. Meanwhile, Craig and Becky Jacobs lived in the nearly 200-year-old log house on the farm just a couple hundred yards from the new house my parents had built in 1975. When my parents were away, Craig and Becky and their 5 daughters took care of the farm animals.
Mom and Dad also owned a beach house in Duck, NC, that provided many fun vacations for them, us, and their 15 grandchildren. Both there and the gatherings over the holidays at home on the farm in Virginia were some of the most special moments we all had as a family with Mom and Dad.
For their service to our country, Dad and Mom now lie in rest at Arlington National Cemetery, in God’s hand and in our hearts forever.
(submitted by their son, Charles Stokes Horn)
Comments