Dale Allen Horn

Dale Allen Horn, 98, of Kelim, CO, slipped away peacefully in his own home on July 7th, 2026, at the end of a long, rich, and thoroughly well-lived life. He was born on October 16, 1927, in Wolbach, NE, to Charles and Lillian Horn.

He was preceded in death by Leta L. (Griffith) Horn, his wife and best friend of 65 years; his son, Randy D. Horn; a sister; and four brothers. He is survived by his daughters, Vicki L. (Betton) and Lori K. Horn, and his son, Danny A. Horn; six grandchildren — Lana, Alan, Ashley, Jonathan, Sylvie, and Mark; and six great-grandchildren — Olivia, Skylar, Rael, Noelle, Jamie, and Penelope.

Dale grew up on a 500-acre family homestead near Chimney Rock in western Nebraska where, unless you walked; horseback and hay wagons were usually how you got to school. He picked up the harmonica as a small boy and was already performing alongside his brother by age six — an early sign that this was a person who was never going to sit quietly in the back row. The guitar, piano, and fiddle followed, and by the mid-1970s, he'd worked his way up to band leader and headlining act. Westerns were his staple, but ask for anything—any genre, any night—and the odds were good he could play it—or let you join the band and have you play it. Leta liked to say “he'd rather play than eat”, and anyone who ever tried to pull him off a stage for supper knew exactly what she meant. Over the years, he would master nearly every instrument he picked up and would famously haul his one-man band instruments to every restaurant, cafe, retirement home, and celebration he booked. He spent decades passing music on, unknowingly becoming a mentor to countless musicians and teachers-to-be, quietly seeding a legacy that's still humming along. Oh - and we can’t forget whistling. He definitely took the song “Whistle-while-you-work” to heart! He whistled from the time he got up in the morning until his head hit the pillow at night - when his whistling turned to snoring. He was heard whistling just weeks before he left us.

While music was a major passion, he was by no means a one-trick pony. Dale kept a rotating cast of cows, horses, miniatures, llamas, and the occasional exotic animal for his entire adult life and he was still out feeding them morning and night until six months before he died. He was a gifted painter who mostly painted western and mountain scenes, then framed them in barn boards or driftwood. He worked as a well driller, a heavy equipment operator, and a commercial carpenter. In whatever hours he could find, he became a mechanical engineer and tinkered — restoring old machinery, welding together lawn ornaments that reflected his unique brand of humor, building chariots and wagons that would turn him and his miniature horses into trojan war heroes, and musical instruments that only he could have imagined, but everybody enjoyed. He was a good cook – particularly if you liked garlic and one-of-a-kind dishes that he sometimes referred to as “slumgulligan”.

And then there was flying. Dale had a lifelong itch to get off the ground, which eventually led him to buy a build-your-own Ultralight aircraft- the kind that comes with only the parts necessary to get off the ground, which meant no seatbelts. This endeavor cost Leta more sleep than she'd probably admit. She eventually talked him out of flying the contraption but that hardly slowed him down; he went on to try hang gliding and hot-air ballooning, because, clearly, two feet on solid ground was always going to be a temporary arrangement for our dear old Pa Horn.

People loved him, and he loved people. He was at his happiest knowing his music made others happy. He had a gift for smoothing over any disagreement — mostly by agreeing with whoever was talking, so he never had to pick a side. He's been called "one-of-a-kind," "a man for all seasons," and "a beautiful, beautiful soul". He was every bit of that and so much more. Between the music, the menagerie, the paintings, the flying machines, and a plethora of other interests he had over the years - the sheer number of lives he touched along the way - it's a safe bet Dale Horn will be remembered, fondly and often, for a very long time.

A celebration of his life is being planned for (on or near) October 16th — what would have been his 99th birthday. Email [email protected] to receive celebration specifics once they are finalized.