Funeral for Fairborn veterinarian celebrates his love of nature

Gerry Coen, holding Lacey, a Miami Valley Pet Therapy dog, hugs Ila Hartrum a fellow client of Dr. Michael Horton's, at a memorial service for Horton, a well-known Fairborn veterinarian, conservationist, and retired Air Force colonel. The service was held Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Fairborn High School.

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 7:29 AM Thursday, August 6, 2009

FAIRBORN — Two clients of Dr. Michael L. Horton made the grieving a little easier for the hundreds of mourners who gathered in the high school auditorium to celebrate his life.

Blue and Lacey, dogs from the Miami Valley Pet Therapy Association, wandered the aisles before the funeral service Wednesday, Aug. 5, offering community members a friendly nuzzle or a back to scratch.

Horton, a veterinarian, conservationist and community leader, would have been pleased with the animals’ presence because he championed the wild things of the world.

His passion for nature was not lost on those who spoke during the more than an hour-long service. In his eulogy, The Rev. Gene Cline, noted Horton’s love of “service” and “celebration” that left an impression on those he knew.

“In this dark hour that impression lives on,” Cline said.

The Rev. Thomas Harmon said Horton was “mesmerized by the beauty of the world.” That obsession was apparent in Horton’s work to better the city’s parks and schools.

Pete Bales, parks director and family friend, said Horton contacted him before he had even accepted the parks post with the city.

“I had goose bumps when I hung up the phone,” Bales said, because of Horton’s dedication. “He lived and breathed Fairborn parks 22 hours a day.”

Horton drowned while swimming in a pond behind his Park Hills Drive home that doubled as a nature preserve. Medics found his body July 31.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is awaiting toxicology and other tests to determine if Horton suffered a heart attack or other malady while he was swimming.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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