ANN MITCHELL HORNE
Oct. 24, 1927 - Jan. 8, 2021
Ann Horne, 93, and her strong soprano voice went to join the heavenly choir of angels on January 8, 2021. Of course, the family consensus is that soon after arriving, s he would have taken over as Head C horal Director, since whoever was in charge up there would not have been running things in accordance with her exacting standards.
Dorothy Ann Mitchell was born on October 24, 1927 in El Centro, the first child of F rank H. “Red” and Bess Mitchell. Ann attended local schools and graduated from Central High in 1943. She received a degree in music from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and, after briefly attending Stanford University, returned to El Centro where she met and married Othniel Horne on November 12, 1949. While Niel w as building his real estate business, Ann was busy raising their 5 children and active a t the First Presbyterian church, where she served as Music Director. Many knew Ann as the founder and director of the youth singing group k nown as Creation Unlimited, which performed throughout the United States and Europe for many years. After her kids were a ll in school, Ann began a notable career as the choral music teacher a t Calexico High School. There, she was instrumental in the formation of La Estudiantina El Cid, a musical group that brought authentic Mexican folk performances to many parts of the country, including to Washington D.C. and New York City.
After retirement from teaching, Ann continued her work with Creation Unlimited, then based at the First Christian Church, and was active in a number of c ommunity efforts. She served on a committee looking to a cquire a c ivic auditorium for El Centro which culminated with the owner of the downtown Fox Theater building agreeing to donate the property t o the City for that purpose. Unfortunately, before the deal could be completed, the darn thing burned to t he g round. These efforts, however, were not in vain, as they eventually led to the construction o f the Jimmie Cannon Theater at Southwest High School. Ann loved music- she taught singing lessons privately throughout her life and sang for many years in the Imperial Valley Master Chorale.
In her spare time, Ann devoted countless hours to her passionate pursuit of g enealogy, unearthing every possible f act about every living or deceased relative o f hers that had ever walked the face o f the earth. She researched, wrote and published several books on the subject, traveling extensively t o Texas, North Carolina, New York, Salt Lake City and elsewhere in the process. So, if there is anyone out there who has the slightest interest in knowing everything there is to know about the Descendants of J eremiah Mitchell or Thomas Wilson, t here may be a few extra copies of her books lying around here somewhere. Ann proudly established her credentials to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), whereby one must prove that they are directly descended from an American veteran of the Revolutionary War.
Ann was preceded in death by her ex- husband, Niel; her brother Frank H. “Hud” Mitchell Jr. and sister Mary Ann Mitchell.
She is survived by her brother, Steve Mitchell; cousin Mary Ann Kline; children Bob ( Karla), Andy (Alexa), Tom (Melody), Larry (fiance Leah), Betsy (John Lane); eleven grandchildren, f ive and one- half great- grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Due to t he COVID- 19 pandemic, a v irtual ZOOM memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 1 p.m. Those wishing to participate should send an email to AnnHorneMemorial @gmail.com. A reply email will then be sent with the login information..
The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be m ade in Ann’s name to the Imperial Valley Choral Society, P.O. B ox 3 531, El Centro, CA, 92244- 3531.