Muriel Elaine Hornberger. January 2, 1934 - March 20, 2023

One of the many special things about our mother is her birthday.  1234.  January 2, 1934. That was the day she was welcomed into this world by her mother, Muriel Electa (Gardenier) Lovejoy, and her father, Ralph Lovejoy in Endicott, NY.  She was the youngest of 5 children, all of whom predeceased her;  Anderson Lovejoy, Arlene Lovejoy, Allen Lovejoy, and Dana Lovejoy.  They were, as their name suggests, full of love, and full of joy. This name suited our mother to a T, as she brought love and joy into the lives of all she met.  She did this until her very dying day.  As a child, she resided with her family on a 200 acre farm in Sherman, Pa that had been gifted to her ancestor, Captain David Allen after the Civil war in return for some mules that he had donated to the Union Army.  It was a beautiful farm which was, interestingly enough  part of the underground railroad that welcomed runaway slaves to freedom in the northern states.   As a child she would wander in the woods around her farm, sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback, and observe the lovely flora and fauna it contained.  Her favorite flower was Lily of the Valley, and she would sometimes gather them and sell them in bundles.  She was a lover of animals of all kinds, and had a way with them.  Her horse could sense her emotions, and  would listen to her pour out her childish heartaches, and lick away her tears and comfort her.  Her father would put her on the backs of their cows as they were being milked, and told her to sing to them.  He said this was her way of contributing to the family farm, as the cows would give more milk when she sang.  Once, her father brought a baby pig into the house to nurse it back to health, keeping it behind the stove in the kitchen for warmth.  Mom played with that pig like it was her real live baby doll, dressing it in her doll clothes and rocking it in a little chair in the kitchen.  One day her daddy came in the kitchen to find her rocking the pig, and looked at it  closely and said, "Elaine, I believe you have loved that little pig to death…". (And they took it outside to bury it!).

On June 30, 1956 she exchanged her beautiful last name for another, as she married our father, David G. Hornberger, Jr., a Lancaster county Pennsylvania boy who was studying Bible in Washington DC, preparing for a life on the mission field.   She had moved to Washington DC, to heal from a heartbreak, and while living there she took night classes at that particular Bible College, while during the day, worked for the FBI.  (Yes.  She was a spy!). JUST KIDDING!!!  However one day she did get a hug from J. Edgar Hoover, because she had the guts to stop him as he tried to flash a fake ID to pass security.  She passed the test.  You can't pull one over on our momma, no matter who you are!  In May of 1957 they welcomed their first child into the world, and nine months later, they boarded a freighter ship (The USS Robin Hood) from New York City, traveled around the cape of Africa, and up the coast of the Indian Ocean, where they finally disembarked at Mombasa on the coast of Kenya.  For the next 15 years they served in Kenya, mostly at the Kijabe mission station, where our mother, among the everyday duties of life that every mother must do, used her natural talent of singing to bless many hundreds of people via radio, special events, church services, choirs, weddings and funerals (and dishwashing and road trips!) :-) She was always available  and willing to help and serve in any way she could.  She had the natural gift of hospitality as well, and often I am sure, entertained angels unawares.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years and 9 months, David G. Hornberger, Jr.;  her 4 Children, Rachael (Hornberger) Yoder (Rich), Philip Hornberger (Laurie), Rebecca (Hornberger) Richburg (Charlie, who predeceased her) and Andy Hornberger (Jean Ellen);  her 14 grandchildren, David Yoder (Kelsey), Dayna (Yoder) Slagmolen (Joas), Danielle (Yoder) Landis, (Peter), Michelle Hornberger, Kristen (Hornberger) Herr (Dan), Michael Hornberger (Elizabeth),  Katy Richburg, Abby (Richburg) Craddock (Joe), Monica (Richburg) Futral (Erik), John Richburg, Samuel Hornberger, Luke Hornberger, Megan (Hornberger) Parrish (Kyle) and Derek Hornberger;  her 9 great grandchildren, Allen and Peter Yoder, Simeon Slagmolen, Marlowe and Elena Herr, Charlie Kathryn and Joe Cain Craddock, Oliver and Marigold Futral.  And a host of friends and loved ones.

The family suggests in lieu of flowers memorials to the African Inland Mission Retirement Center Assistance Fund, www.aimprojects.org/RetirementCenter