Memorial service Friday for retired Hinsdale Central teacher killed in car crash

A memorial service will be held Friday for James Horan, a retired Hinsdale Central High School teacher who died in a car crash Saturday ^[1] night.

Horan, 60, had worked 22 years at Hinsdale Central High School, teaching English and Latin, Central principal William Walsh said. But his involvement in the school went far beyond the classroom.

Horan, who played guitar in the band Jambone, sponsored the guitar club at Central and co-sponsored the Latin club.

"He was the voice of all our pep assemblies," announcing the activities with energy, passion and humor, Walsh said.

At Central's homecoming pep rally in September 2015, his last before he retired, the school honored him with a red and white velvet crown and homecoming sash of his own.

Walsh said what he remembers most fondly is Horan's "jovial smiles" and "his passion for teaching."

Latin teacher Alisha McCloud, who taught with Horan for 13 years, saw that too.

"He was incredibly passionate about Latin and teaching in general," McCloud said. "He had an energy that was really genuine and contagious."

Latin teachers often teach the same students year after year, so they get to know their students well and vice versa, she said. Studying Latin is about studying history and especially in the upper grades, studying Cicero, philosophers and universal truths, McCloud said.

Horan was a teacher who brought that to life and showed parallels between the lessons of ancient philosophers and the ideas that people analyze and wrestle with today, McCloud said. "He also helped the graduation speakers craft their speeches," she said.

Prior to working at Central, Horan had been a teacher at Loyola Academy in Wilmette.

Although Horan retired from teaching after the 2015-16 school year, he continued to work as the coach of the freshman and sophomore boys golf team.

Horan was at Central on the day he died, working as a proctor for the PSAT test that sophomores were taking March 18, Walsh said.

Later that night, Horan, who lives in Park Ridge, was driving his 2005 Acura TL east on Route 176, just east of Ivanhoe Road, when the vehicle left the road and struck a utility pole, a spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Office said. At about 10:10 p.m., emergency personnel arrived and found Horan had suffered fatal injuries.

Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m, Friday with a memorial service at 7 p.m. at Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights.

Horan's obituary published in the Chicago Tribune stated, "He was a devoted husband to his sweetheart Ellen for 34 years. As best friends, they climbed mountains, swam in seas, and drank in all that life had to offer."

In addition to his wife Ellen, Horan is survived by his children, Lisa (Ben) Coonan and Robert Horan; his brothers Bob (Debbie), Dan (Angie), and Terry (Jill), his sisters Liz (Bill) Andrews and Ellyn (Michael) Elwart, his sister-in-law Lucy (Dirk) Herrman; and a host of nieces and nephews.

kfornek@pioneerlocal.com ^[2]

Twitter @kfdoings