Joan L Hornbeck

Joan was born in Dover, Ohio, the daughter of Ronald L. and Margaret Peters, and grew up attending school in the Northwestern School District, Clark County, Ohio. She attended The Ohio State University and obtained a degree in Home Economics, played on the volleyball team, and joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Following graduation, Joan’s first job was as a “Betty Newton” for Columbia Gas Company, first in Springfield and then moving on to Columbus, where she did cooking demonstrations to educate consumers about the gas company's appliances. Thereafter, Joan proceeded to teach Food Service Management for many years at the Northeast Career Center in Columbus, where she made a lasting impact on her students.

Joan became an avid tennis player for many years at various clubs around Columbus, and formed some great friendships on her competitive teams at Worthington Hills Country Club. Joan also attended St. Andrew Presbyterian in Columbus commencing in the 1970’s through 2023 when the church closed it’s doors. She served on the church Session, organized youth groups, and coordinated and prepared numerous delicious meals for various events and celebrations at the church over the years.

Joan is survived by her husband of over 62+ years, Dave Hornbeck. They started married life together living in Crete, Greece for three years while Dave served in the U.S. Air Force, before settling back in Columbus. They always enjoyed doing many things together such as traveling to interesting places, ski trips, playing tennis, attending OSU football games, and continuing to learn new skills together as life continued on. Joan and Dave also both obtained private pilots licenses, later purchasing a Cessna aircraft which they flew for several years around Ohio. Even after all of those years, Joan would often look at him adoringly and say to anyone who would listen, “Isn’t he handsome?” And, of course, Dave would return the compliment.

Joan was a loving, devoted mother to their daughter, Kirsten Stilgenbauer, and an adoring grandmother to Andrew (“Drew”) and Nathan (“Nate”) of Cincinnati, Ohio. The entire family enjoyed trips to Hilton Head every year, and Joan loved planning other trips and outings together, and contributed to creating many cherished family memories.

Joan had a gregarious, outgoing personality and just like her father, never met a stranger. She was known for her legendary “snort” when laughing, sense of humor and ability to make others laugh, as well as the unpredictable and often amusing comments that would randomly originate with her. She and Dave acquired many friends and maintained connections through the years, and Joan will be missed by many.

Joan lived a full life, and very definitely made the most of her 84 years. Live on Sweetheart in Dave’s dreams – he will be joining you in the future.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Alex Tsai at Central Ohio Primary Care, and Hospice of Central Ohio, for all of the extraordinary care, compassion and support during Joan’s final stages of life.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Ronald and Margaret (Circle) Peters, in-laws, George and Glenna Hornbeck; and brother-in-law Geoff Hornbeck.

Joan is survived by her husband, Dave Hornbeck, daughter, Kirsten (Hornbeck) Stilgenbauer (Kevin Atkinson), grandsons, Nathan and Andrew Stilgenbauer, sisters-in-law, Carol Moody (Rick); and Jacquelyn Hornbeck.

A Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2024, from 11am until 1pm, and a funeral will follow at 1pm, at the Schoedinger Worthington Funeral Home, 6699 North High St., Worthington OH, 43085.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan's memory may be made to a charity of your choice.