Mourners pack church, pay respects to Horne

By Greg Phillips

Published: August 1, 2008

After every practice, Dale County Head Football Coach Todd Horne huddled his players together and said the Lord’s Prayer.

Friday afternoon, it seemed an entire community had formed a huddle as it recited that same prayer as a final homage to its fallen friend and family member.

Ozark Baptist Church wasn’t big enough to hold the mourners at Horne’s funeral Friday afternoon, but that didn’t stop people from gathering outside the church to honor the coach.

“What a testament to Coach Horne to see all the lives he touched,” said Steve Savarese, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, who bestowed scholarship awards to Horne’s children, Colby and Cameron. “He’s a wonderful example of how we should treat our families. I’m so proud of how he represented the Alabama High School Athletic Association.”

Dale County High School Principal Leavy Boutwell told those in attendance about Horne’s special relationship with his students and players.

“He mesmerized those kids in those classes,” Boutwell said. “I’ve never seen anybody handle kids better. The Dale County School Board and the school system was lucky to have Todd, because he gave you all he had.”

Dale County Assistant Superintendent Lamar Brooks said he learned two lessons from Horne. The first was to enjoy life, and the second was that hard work pays off.

“He always wanted to have fun, and he felt the teams that worked hardest would win in the end,” Brooks said.

Horne often expressed his respect for Brooks, and Friday was Brooks’ chance to return that respect.

“It’s an honor to be held in such esteem that Coach Horne held me in. I only pray he knew I had as high regard for him as he had for me,” Brooks said. “Coming back to Dale County High School was a chance for him to give back to a community that had given to him.”

Braxton Bell has served on the Dale County School Board for 32 years, and he was there when Horne was first hired.

“I was on the board when he came to G.W. Long, and the only thing I can say about him is you knew he loved you,” Bell said. “We visited for about an hour and a half last Thursday, and before we left, I hugged him and told him I loved him, and he hugged me and told me he loved me. That’s the way Coach Horne was. He loved people. He was a first-class young man, and his players would tell you the same thing.”

Thursday night’s visitation at the church was the largest gathering John Holman, director of Holman Mortuary, has ever seen for such an occasion.

“We’ve been in business 70 years, and that was the largest visitation we’ve ever worked,” Holman said. “We think around 2,000 came through, and the visitation lasted seven hours. People were lined up all around the corner to around the Commercial Bank of Ozark. It was the largest visitation I’ve ever seen.”

According to Holman, people lined up at 3:30 p.m. and didn’t stop filing in until 10:30 p.m.

Bell, who attended the visitation, verified Holman’s claims.

“When you see 2,000 people come to a funeral home for a visitation, that tells you something,” Bell said. “Two thousand people came through that church from all walks of life. Not just coaches and players, but doctors, lawyers, engineers, farmers. All walks of life. It makes you proud. He influenced a lot of lives. I’m 65 years old, and he influenced my life.”

While the skies opened as the funeral service came to an end, Boutwell said Horne could always brighten a cloudy day.

“I swear sometimes when I saw him walk down the hall, I saw sunshine,” Boutwell said.