Lorenzo David Horner III

Lorenzo David (Dave) Horner III passed away peacefully at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 8, 2026. Dave was the son of L. David Horner Jr. and Katherine Byers Horner of Lynchburg, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 60 years, Jayne Bond Horner and his younger brother John Byers Horner (Katherine Davidson) of Richmond, Virginia. He is survived by daughters Valerie Pickert (Stephen) of Orlando, Florida, Victoria Horner of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Julie Bryant (Kevin) of Easton, Maryland, along with grandsons who he adored, Joseph Pickert (Christina Ancel) and James Pickert (Laura Beckner) of Richmond, Virginia, and Daniel Pickert (Julie Norton) of Orlando, Florida, as well as nephews Ashby Davidson Horner (Melanie Covington) and John Sherman Mahood Horner (Cecelia Philipps) of Richmond, Virginia.

Born in Lynchburg on December 13, 1934, Dave graduated from EC Glass High School in 1952 and UVa in 1956 with a BA in Economics, where he played varsity basketball, and was a proud member of SAE. He later obtained a graduate degree from the Stonier School of Banking at Rutgers in 1967. After meeting on a blind date, Dave and Jayne were married in her hometown of Atlanta in 1955. They lived in Pittsburg where Dave worked for US Steel; then Dave served at sea in the Navy from 1956-58. Thereafter he joined the Bank of Virginia in 1959 and worked his way up to an EVP position; in 1966 he was elected President of the Bank of Central Virginia in Lynchburg, the youngest bank president in state history.

In 1974, Dave and Jayne moved with their family to Orlando. There, Dave served as CEO of Southeast Bank until he and partner Kelly Smith purchased the Central Florida franchise for Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken, which grew from zero to 55 locations, the largest Popeye’s franchise in the U.S. It sold in 1990, after Dave was named Florida’s Small Businessman of the Year. During his time in Virginia and Florida, he served in philanthropic positions including President of the YMCA, board member of Edgewood Boys Ranch and Boys Club of America, in an effort to mentor and rehab young people struggling to find their niche in life.

Dave spent earlier summers as a lifeguard and dive shop owner at Virginia Beach where he held the unofficial record for rescues in the surf, taught underwater photography, and skin and scuba diving. He was one of the first nationally certified scuba instructors in the country and produced an underwater movie “Diver Below” which won several national film awards, while also serving as president of the Virginia Skin Divers Association. In the mid 1970s, he pursued the rights to Spanish wrecks off the Atlantic coast. Dave was featured twice as the real person on the national game show, To Tell the Truth, with a panel of celebrities trying to guess who was telling the truth versus the imposters.

Dave was always fascinated with underwater exploration, shipwreck research, sunken treasure and unsolved mysteries. A colorful story teller and a long time member of The Explorers Club, he was recognized by the Bahamas and the government of Ecuador for his contribution to the salvage of three Spanish galleons lost in the 1600s. Through decades of research, he reconstructed journeys of wrecked ships, pirates, explorers and lost airplanes, and authored several books, the first being Shipwrecks, Skin Divers and Sunken Gold. Later came Better Scuba Diving for Boys, The Blockade Runners, The Treasure Gallons, Shipwreck: Saga of Sunken Treasure, and more recently, The Earhart Enigma, which won the silver medalist award for non-fiction in Florida. His final book, Secrets and Mysteries of Christopher Columbus, was published in 2020 along with a documentary available on Amazon. Sadly, he passed away before he could author a book on the lost continent of Atlantis, which he was convinced lies below the mountains of the Azores.

After sixty years of marriage, Jayne sadly passed away in 2016. She was a tremendous support to Dave throughout his life. Having been a Spanish major at Randolph Macon, she translated many archival documents for his books and was his unofficial Chief of Staff. Dave moved from Vero Beach to Charlottesville in 2020, to be closer to his family and friends in the area. He loved being in his old stomping grounds, surrounded by history and wonderful memories, looking out his window at Monticello mountain, and UVa Grounds, plus he was a long time supporter of UVa Athletics and the Jefferson Scholarship Foundation. While he missed close friends in Florida and Maryland, he always said it was great to be back home. Always a Virginia gentleman, he will be sorely missed by all that knew and loved him. We know he will “keep on keepin’ on” and make heaven a more colorful place.

Our family would like to thank the Peaceful Minds care-giver team and Hospice of the Piedmont for their exceptional care. Donations may be made in his memory to Tunnel to Towers, Boys Club of America and Anti-Human Trafficking – Tim Tebow Foundation.

A Celebration of Life will be at 10:00 A.M. Saturday 8/22/2026 at Monticello Memory Gardens.