Claude Wendell Horton

Dr. Claude Wendell Horton Jr passed away at the Westminster Senior Living Facility on Thursday July 10, 2025. Born in Houston, Texas on Feb 3rd 1942, Wendell was the son of Claude Wendell Horton Sr. and Louise Walthall Horton. As a child, Wendell battled and overcame Polio, a common disease at the time.

Wendell graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1960. He graduated with a degree in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin on June 1, 1963. On June 8th, 1963 he married his high school sweetheart Elisabeth Alice (Libby) Horton who he met in an Austin High Physics class.

Wendell’s interest in nuclear fusion grew during his graduate studies at the University of California at San Diego. He was inspired by the enormous potential of controlled fusion reactions to generate cheap, clean, and sustainable Energy on an unprecedented and inexhaustible scale i.e., human generated ‘Star Power’. Wendell earned his PhD at UCSD under Marshall Rosenbluth, a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project and a close protégé of Edward Teller. Wendell has published or edited thirteen books on the theoretical basis for plasma containment and transport, and co-authored over 200 papers. A frequently cited book is “Chaos and Structures in Nonlinear Plasmas” ISBN 81-7764-234-0.

In September of 2007, Wendell’s beloved wife Libby lost her battle with breast cancer. After a dark period of depression, Wendell met Meiling Lung Newman of Austin, Texas. Meiling is also the surviving spouse of a victim of cancer. With a shared passion in travel, food, and the Texas Hill Country, the couple fell in love. He was married to Meiling on April 17, 2010. Wendell and Meiling spent significant time living in the south of France while working on the engineering megaproject known as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). Wendell co-authored his final book titled ITER Physics in 2015.

Wendell is survived by his second wife Meiling Lung Newman; his son John Horton and John’s children Jaclyn, Jayna, and Joe Horton; his youngest son Mike Horton; his wife Melissa Horton and Mike’s children Mica, Maya and, Makayla Horton.

Wendell will be remembered as a loving husband and strong-willed father who lived a high-energy and full life. His enduring love of Theoretical Physics inspired countless undergraduate and graduate students to become engineers, mathematicians, scientists, and teachers.

Visitation will be held on August 2nd, 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Weed-Corley-Fish funeral home at 5416 Parkcrest Dr. Austin, TX. The Funeral Service will be held on August 3rd, 12:00pm at First English Lutheran Church at 3001 Whitis Avenue.