Don Horneck was the “go-to guy” when it came to Eastern Oregon’s soil and getting the best yields from farmers’ crops.
That description comes from his colleague and good friend, Phil Hamm, director of the Hermiston Agricultural Research & Extension Center (HAREC).
“His sphere of influence was everywhere,” Hamm said. “From the field burning program in Umatilla County, the use of water for irrigation on crop fields coming from processing plants, the management of nitrogen application to reduce leaching into ground water, to coming up with new ways, new products, new information on the best use of fertilizer.”
Horneck was a soil scientist and agronomist at HAREC for 15 years – 15 impactful years, said Hamm.
“Don leaves behind an incredibly huge hole,” said Hamm. “Not only due to the friends and colleagues he left behind – actually more like family at HAREC – but the loss to the community because Don was involved with many things like soccer, rock hounding, the Lions Club and much more.”
Horneck earned his bachelor degree from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill., before earning his master’s degree from the University of Illinois. He later received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1993.
He and his wife, Victoria, moved to Hermiston in 1994 and Horneck went to work for Agrisource before coming to HAREC where he quickly made his mark for both his expertise and his personality.
“The experiment station will survive, but we lost a very dear friend,” Hamm said. “We no longer have Don, but we will never be without his memories, the support he provided the staff, the smile on his face, and the twinkle in his eyes when he was giving you a hard time. And because of who he was, we have literally endless stories to tell about Don that brings a smile to our face and laughter to our hearts.
“Our lives are not the same because of Don and we thank him for sharing this past years with us at HAREC.”
A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. at the Hermiston High School Commons.
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