He was born May 27, 1911 and died March 31, 2006, two months shy of his 95th birthday. His father was Jack Hornberger and his mother was Mary Thomas. His father was a skilled typesetter at Von-Beckman-Jones Publishing Company and Willis said his mother was a good cook and played the piano. In 1911, his parents moved the family from Ohio to Austin and although he was born during that trip while they were passing through Oklahoma City, he always claimed that he was from Austin since they remained in Oklahoma City only a couple of weeks after he was born and he lived in Austin the rest of his life. He was the oldest of 5 boys. Next is Buddy, then Homer (a glider pilot who died in WW2), Paul (who died a couple of years ago) and Roland. He went to Baker Jr. High School and Austin High School. He met his future bride, Meta Birck of Johnson City, at a dance in Dripping Springs and they dated for 10 years before they got married. Meta died in 1995 and is buried next to him. He worked at a filling station owned by Willie Kocurek and then for Austin Phonographic, where he serviced and installed juke boxes. After that, he had a 2-week career working a foot powered mortise machine at Calcasieu Lumber Company. He did not like that job at all and quit. He then worked at Capitol National Bank. In 1940, he had his house built on Sunshine Drive which is near McCallum High School and Koenig Lane. At that time, it was the only house in the middle of cotton fields and dairy farms. He was too young to have served in WW1 and just a bit too old for the initial draft of WW2. His work was on the home front at both the magnesium plant and Camp Mabry, where he refurbished tanks and jeeps that were then returned to the war effort. He then began his long career as a steam fitter at the University of Texas and he was there when UT converted from coal to gas as a fuel source. He retired from UT in 1973. He joined the Order of Herman Sons in 1960 and for a time, served as President of the Austin Lodge. He also sold life insurance for that organization. He has been dancing for as long as any family member can remember and did this as recently as 2 months ago. This was not just one dance a month or for a special event but three nights a week, every week. Monday nights, it was the Pioneer Dance Club at the Senior Center, Tuesday nights was at Hancock Center and Thursday nights it was back at the Senior Center with the American Pioneer Dance Club. In every one of those places, he would arrive and go to every table and shake hands with his many friends. He had a social life that was more active than most people half his age and everyone is convinced that staying so active allowed him to have 94 years of a great life. In 1997, he began volunteering at the Travis County Senior Nutritional Services lunch at Hyde Park Christian Church where every day at lunch, he helped feed the young ones, you know, the 70 and 80 year-olds. Last year, he was honored at the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Travis County Banquet. They selected him from over two thousand volunteers as their Volunteer of the Year. We will miss him and his no-nonsense approach to moving about. When he was ready to go somewhere, he got up and did so without delay. He also knew it was his time to leave this life and he did so with a clear mind and that same determination.
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