07/21/2026
So sad to hear of the passing of Ms. June Horne. She was truly a remarkable educator who influenced countless lives throughout her career.
I’ll never forget when Madison was in kindergarten. I came home from work one day and Debbie told me we had to go to a meeting at the principal’s office because Madison had bitten another child. My heart sank. I thought, “Oh no, here we go again.” We had gone through a similar meeting at daycare a couple of years earlier.
We went to the VV meeting, and honestly, I was worried. Thoughts of my child getting kicked out of school for biting were running through my head. When we arrived, the meeting was with Ms. Horne. She explained that Madison had been involved in two biting incidents and that she was required to meet with us. Then, in her calm and reassuring way, she told us not to worry and said it would probably never happen again.
She asked if Madison had ever had any other biting episodes before kindergarten. I told her “oh yes, this wasn’t our first rodeo, Discovery Island had warned us once she was getting close to her “official bite limit.”
Ms. Horne took a deep breath, paused for a moment, collected her thoughts, and slowly said, “Okay, we’ll just take this day by day,,,,, lol. I’ll never forget the look on her face that day, she had to have been thinking we got a serial biter here possibly.
I apologized to her over this incident and to the other child involved. But as a seasoned educator speaking to two young nervous parents, she reassured us that these things happen, that Madison would likely outgrow it, (we hoped) and that we should just keep talking with her while the school kept an eye on things too. I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, I sure hope so.”
That meeting stayed with me. I had known Ms. Horne growing up, but that was my first real personal interaction with her. She was so kind, gentle, and understanding. She made us feel like parents instead of problems.
I walked out of that office feeling so much better and hopeful that we wouldn’t be looking for another school after all maybe hopefully.
Over the years, whenever I saw Ms. Horne, I always made a point to say hello and let her know that Madison had made it another year without biting anyone all the way up to her high school graduation. We’d always have a good laugh out of it.
But in all seriousness, I’ll miss Ms. Horne. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known—always gentle, always encouraging, and always wearing that big smile. She made a difference in more lives than she probably ever realized.
Rest in peace, Ms. Horne.
