Floreine Kerr Hornback

Floreine Kerr Hornback, 90, of Phoenix, Ariz., and formerly of Mounds and Ullin died on March 8, 2023. 

She was born on Feb. 15, 1933, in Wetaug, the daughter of Leo and Bonnie Kerr.

She graduated from Ullin High School in 1951. She married classmate Teddy Joe Hornback on Oct. 14, 1952. 

Shortly after their marriage, she accompanied Teddy Joe when he was stationed in the U.S. Air Force in Glendale, Ariz., and Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Upon completion of his service obligations, they returned to be near their families in Southern Illinois. 

She graduated from Shawnee Community College near Ullin with an associate degree that helped her to fulfill her lifelong dream of teaching later in life. 

She taught in the “Walk To Read” program at Adams Elementary in Mesa, Ariz., well up into her mid-80s. Being a teacher and loving her students helped her survive ovarian cancer in 2007. 

Prior to teaching, she owned and operated her own Beauty Shop in Mounds and served as secretary to the Pulaski County sheriff. 

She was a member of the Mounds First Baptist Church and the Longmore Road Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her sister, Barbara Kerr Corzine and her brother Mike Kerr. 

She is survived by her son, Joe Hornback of Phoenix, Ariz.; her grandchildren, Kiri Nicole Hornback of Phoenix, Ariz., Jordan Paul Hornback (and spouse Kayla) of Page, Ariz., and Kendyl M’Kenzi Hornback of  Cape Girardeau; her siblings, Dean Kerr of Chino, Calif., and Jeannie Kerr Byassee of Bryan, Texas. She had two great-grandchildren, Jamie Phillip Hornback and Anastasia Nevaeh Hornback.

She will be buried with her husband Teddy Joe at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, Ariz. A memorial service will be conducted, but the date and location have not been determined yet.

Her family thanks the Jubilee in the Desert group home and Uplift Hospice.