Larry Horacek

Lawrence “Larry” Ronald Horacek, age 85 of Woodvale St. passed away Saturday, July 31, 2021 at Carolina Care Health and Rehabilitation.  He was born October 23, 1935 in Ludington, Michigan to the late Lawrence Jerome and Genevieve Albrecht Horacek.  He attended the University of Michigan and was a member of their diving team.  Larry honorably served his country as Captain in the United States Airforce.  He was the recipient of two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Flying Cross,  as well as numerous others medals and decorations during his 12 years of service.  While in the military, he was a Bomber Pilot.  After his discharge, he continued with his love of flying and made a career of being a pilot and retired from Great American Airways in Reno, Nevada. His flying career led him to call many cities home: including Orlando, FL; Lincoln, NE;  Ogden, UT; Jamaica, Queens, NY; Virginia Beach, VA;  Pleasant Hill, CA;  Reno, NV; Franklin, NC, and lastly Cherryville, NC. His hobbies included diving, water skiing, go-cart racing, building model air planes, and building model air plane "whirly-gigs" as he would call them, flying remote control gliders, woodworking, and various other projects he would creatively come up with to provoke a smile or giggle from the family. He was a avid fan of University of Michigan and Oakland Raider football.  He also enjoyed watching Indy car and NASCAR races. He enjoyed walking his dogs. "Snoopy" was the most beloved of his furry companions. Larry was a member of Anthony Grove Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Joyce Scott Horacek; children, James Monroe “Jimmy” Camp III and wife, Vera, and Sharon Christina “Chrissy” Hitchcock; granddaughter, Melody Bridges and husband, Brian; great grandchildren, Cameron Crumpton and Abby Bridges; and brothers, Bruce Horacek and wife, Sherry, and James M."Jim" Horacek.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 10:30 AM at Anthony Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Dr. Dennis Bean officiating.   Burial will take place at 2:00 PM at Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain.  The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM at Anthony Grove Baptist Church.

Service can be viewed via live streaming at https://www.anthonygrove.org/live-streaming/  and will be posted and available to stream anytime.

Memorials may be made to Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org.