Gerald "Jerry" David Horman

Gerald “Jerry” David Horman was born December 2, 1953 in Great Bend, Kansas and peacefully left this earth with his daughters by his side to his eternal home in Heaven on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at his childhood home in Chaffee, Missouri at the age of 72, following a brief but intense battle with cancer.

Jerry was the 3rd child and 2nd so of George Dewey and Bonnie Mae (Naugle) Horman. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Orrville and Helen (Bushong) Naugle and Fred and Mayme (Griffin) Horman; his parents, George and Bonnie; his sister, Helen Christine (Horman) Jones; his great grandson, Raylan Joseph Nance and his wife, Jerrie (Behmeyer) Miller.

He is survived by his daughters, Jeanna Ray Horman-Nance and Jennifer Renae Lang and their mother/his first wife, Bonnie Mae (Gilder) Horman; sons-in-law, Jeff Martin, Jason Lang and (former) Chris Nance; his grandchildren, Dwight (Emilie) Nance, Jesse (Kendra) Nance, Katie (Kyle) Graham-Roth, Trent (Lydia Steffens) McElvain, Carson McElvain and Ellie McElvain: his great-grandchildren, Preston, Wesley, Hudson and Arlo Nance, Vivian Graham, Elijah Roth and Brooks McElvine, his step-daughters, Janet (Chris) Faulkner, Kelly (Greg Demske) Ingram and Jessica (Jake) Mathews; step-grandchildren, Dillon (Roberta Whitney) Lang, Austin and Jacob Faulkner, Emma and Sophia Anzelmo; step-great-grandchildren, Mara, Charlie and Kai Lang and Isabella Whitney; his brothers, Dewey Ray (Marla), Delbert (Sue), Delmer (Betty) and Dennis Horman and sister, Ellen Carleen (Horman) Piper; also many treasured nieces and nephews and his best friend since his school days, Bruce Glastetter.

Since his earliest days, Jerry was always on the go. From having to be tied to the clothesline as a toddler so his mom could get her laundry done without him running into the road and getting hit by a semi (true story) to playing baseball and slow pitch softball throughout his school days and early adult years to making many trips back and forth between his home and family in Chaffee and the campground in northern Alabama where he and his wife stayed in their retirement years, he never slowed down.

While Jerry enjoyed all things outdoors including trapping when he was younger and hunting, his true passion in nature was fishing. Staring out with bank fishing at Grossheiders and other small ponds, to his small john boat with 9.9 motor at Horseshoe Lake and other lakes around Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois to his custom designed boar that he was very proud of at larger lakes in Mississippi and Alabama, he was always fishing for those crappie.

If you knew Jerry, you know he loved to talk and never met a strange. Talking on the CB under his handle “Ramblin’ Man” to other truckers, talking to the waitresses in the many diners and truck stops along the highway, talking to the guys at Rhodes and The One Stop. He knew someone everywhere he went and he lit up the room with his smile, his jokes and his crazy stories of which there were Plenty. He loved life, he lived it to the fullest and he made no excuses or turned his face away from the turns he took in life.

Jerry was also a hardworking, proud provider for his family. From his early days at Don Pemberton Farms, Pocahontas Lumber in Jackson and Clarklift of Cape to his profession as an over the road truck driver and owner/operator hauling feeder pigs, diapers from P&G, and steel on a flatbed, he never backed down or complained about the work at hand, making sure the job was done the right way an expecting others to do the same (his girls learned from a young age that with enough elbow grease, those fuel tanks would come clean and sparkle). He was proud to provide for his family in whatever ways were needed right up to the end.

Jerry was not an overly outwardly emotional person, typically keeping his softer feelings to himself, but he was dependable for his family. He stayed right by his mom’s side as she battled cancer herself several years ago, he gave o himself tirelessly as his wife battled liver failure this past summer to attend to her needs. He went to all of his grandkid’s graduations and life events and he showed up for his great-grandkids birthday parties or just to sit and watch them play. He loved his family and he wanted to make sure all those little ones would remember his as he knew his time on earth was drawing to a close.

Dad wouldn’t want anyone sitting around feeling sad about him leaving. His last few words in the ER were, “Quit being crybabies, I’m rolling with Jesus and get out of the way (as he was headed to the OR for surgery)” ….so for all who knew, loved and laughed with him, please come celebrate his life with us on Friday, February 6th at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee. Visitation will be form 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with funeral service starting at 3:00 pm. Dinner with follow at 5:00 pm at the Delta Community Center. All are welcome to share stories, share laughs and share a great meal as Jeff cooks supper for Dad one last time.