Remembering LGBTQ+ Advocate and Volunteer Cheryl Horn-Garcia
MCC-D Detroit member and long-time school bus driver remembered as a champion for the community
Cheryl Dawn Horn-Garcia, a long-time school bus driver and active volunteer in the LGBTQ community, died March 10. She was 67.
Horn-Garcia and her wife of 35 years, Carmen Garcia, were well-known members of the LGBTQ community, particularly through their volunteer work at the Metropolitan Community Church and Affirmations.
Born March 24, 1957, in Pontiac, Michigan, Horn-Garcia was the third of four daughters born to Harold Horn and Betty Richardson Horn. She graduated in 1975 from Waterford Mott High School where she was active in student government.
For most of her adult working life, Horn-Garcia worked as a school bus driver in Birmingham, Utica and at the Cranbrook School. In her 20s and 30s, she was an avid runner, participating in the Stroh's Run for Liberty in 1985 and various other events including the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and a half marathon at the Detroit Free Press Marathon.
Horn-Garcia met Garcia in 1988. The couple was joined in a Holy Union on March 30, 1990, and legally married on March 26, 2016. They lived in Clawson before moving to Ferndale in 1994.
Their relationship faced an early challenge when Horn-Garcia was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in 1988. After two years of intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments, doctors told her she was in complete remission, and the cancer never recurred.
By her 40s, complications from a work-related back injury and other health challenges required Horn-Garcia to go on permanent disability. She then devoted herself to volunteering at the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit, serving on many committees and project groups.
Horn-Garcia was known for her love of Shakespeare and Harry Potter books. She and Garcia regularly attended the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. She also enjoyed the outdoors, walking and was fascinated by marine life.
"She loved her friends and family deeply," Garcia said.
Survivors include her mother, Betty Richardson Horn, 100, of Waterford; sisters Trish Horn Sauve of Waterford and Gaye Horn of Clarkston; and several nieces and nephews. Her father, Harold Horn, and her oldest sister, Diane Horn McGowan, preceded her in death.
A memorial service will be held March 28 at 2 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Ferndale with visitation beginning at 1 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit or to the Cheryl Horn-Garcia Radio Internship at WDET Detroit.
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