John Horan

John Edward Horan, age 73, died on Thursday February 25, 2016. He was born in St. Louis, MO on June 25, 1942 to the late Francis and Anne Horan. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Benedict’s College; he briefly studied law at the University of Missouri and studied public administration at Southern Illinois University.

John is survived by his brother Bob Horan of San Rafael, CA, sister Elisabeth Ptak of Inverness, CA and brother Don Horan and his wife Kathy of Manchester, MO; his loving wife Julia Sullivan Horan, stepchildren Patrick and Alice Squeglia, children Jennifer Horan and her husband Stephen Meinhold of Wilmington, NC; Jessica Horan-Kunco and her husband Ron Kunco of Erie, PA and Joshua Horan and his wife Dana of Columbus, OH, and eight grandchildren: Madeleine Meinhold, Katherine Meinhold, Jeremy Kunco, Adam Kunco, Eleanor Meinhold, Rachel Kunco, Liam Horan and Quin Horan.

John served as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Erie, for 38 years (1977-2016). During his tenure he led the agency to sharpen its focus on creating opportunities for the success of the people it serves. The Housing Authority’s mission is to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing for lower-income families, elderly, and persons with disabilities; and to foster among the residents we serve economic self-sufficiency, and a sense of community and pride in the neighborhoods where they reside.

John summarized it best, “It’s About People.”

His dedication to ensuring that those who are underprivileged have opportunities led to four decades of innovative programs positively impacting the life trajectory of thousands of Erie residents, in and out of public housing. John understood that one of the pillars of opportunity is education. To that end he created a series of educational support and outreach programs including scholarships tailored to serve the diverse needs of the residents of public housing. These programs meet educational needs from early childhood to adult literacy and include: The Ellen Curry Foundation, The Curry Scholarships; The Louis J. Tullio Scholarships; After School Clubs; a Children’s Library; Head Start; Earth Action; Adult Education and Job Preparation; the Housing Authority Employment Program for Public Housing Residents; Opportunities for Immigrants; Housing for the Disabled and finally, Abolishing Stereotypes, an effort to ensure that the hard work of public housing individuals and their success is recognized. John was also very proud of a 2015 initiative, the Wangari Maathal Tree Project. This effort resulted in the planting of 1,000 native trees at seven HACE developments.

In addition to these significant, ongoing programs John cultivated a broader culture of opportunity throughout the Housing Authority with such youth development programs as “Night at the Ballpark”, ”Learn to Fish”, “Learn to Sail”, and “Learn to Golf.” All of these efforts were developed in partnership with private sector organizations, funders and volunteers. Other important partners included representatives from the public and private sectors such as the Erie County Library; the YMCA, GECAC, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine; Early Connections, Inc.; Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit and the E.F. Smith Quality of Life Learning Center.

Visitation will be held at the John J. Quinn Funeral Home, 728 W. 9th St. on Monday, February 29th  from 4 pm- 7 pm and Tuesday, March 1st   from 2 pm-4 pm  and 6 pm -8 pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on  Wednesday March 2nd  at 10:00 am in St. Peter Cathedral followed by a private burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions to be used for scholarships be made to: The Ellen Curry Foundation, 606 Holland Street
Erie, PA 16501-1205.