Edward "Mac" Arthur Hornecker

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Edward "Mac" Arthur Hornecker, 68, died Monday, Oct. 10, in Arkadelphia, Ark. Mac was born April 10, 1943, at the Hornecker Hospital, Sheldon, Mo., to Gordon and Pauline Hornecker. He was the youngest of three children.

Mac graduated Nevada High School and attended Joplin Junior College where he received an associates arts degree in 1964. He went on to obtain a bachelor of fine arts from the Kansas City Arts Institute in 1968, and a master of fine arts from the University of Oklahoma in 1970, specializing in sculpture. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Buena Vista University.

In May of 1965, Mac married Marie Elaine Baysinger in Joplin, Mo. After graduate school, they moved to Storm Lake, Iowa, where he was a professor of art at Buena Vista University from 1971 until his retirement in 2001. He taught for 30 years at BVU, which was his first teaching job. Among his many accomplishments at BVU were starting both the printmaking and graphic design programs. Upon retirement from BVU, they moved to Arkadelphia, Ark., where he returned to academia as an adjunct professor at Henderson State University, until his death. It has been said that one of Hornecker's strengths was molding an average student into a success and doing far more than improving their technique; he improved their confidence and sense of self-worth.

Mac is survived by his wife, Marie; sister, Mary Ann Clark and husband, Paul, Nevada, Mo.; daughter, Marcy Hornecker, Cincinnati, Ohio; daughter, Melissa Baldwin and husband, Mike, West Lafayette, Ind.; daughter-in-law, Beth MacLeod, Duxbury, Mass.; and sister-in-law, Patricia Angeley, Danbury, Texas. He had three grandsons: Maclain and Andrew Baldwin, and Noah Hornecker. He was preceded in death by his son, Med Hornecker; sister, Bonnie Willers and her husband, Don; and his parents.

A celebration of Mac's life will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15, in the Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home Chapel. The family will greet friends immediately after the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Buena Vista University Art Department and/or the Henderson State Art Department. Sign the online guestbook at www.ruggleswilcox.com