Vayden Henley Horton Jr.

Vayden Henley Horton Jr., 91, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

Born in Coleman, Texas on June 27, 1930 to Vayden Henley Horton, Sr., and Pearl Edith Avery.  He left home early and, with the help of his grandfather, enlisted in the Regular Army in 1946.  He received his WWII medal for serving as a communications technician stationed on Guam for two years before returning stateside and serving four years with the US Naval Reserves.

He went to work for the Consolidated Vultee Corporation in Fort Worth, Texas.  He took advantage of many educational opportunities and became a highly skilled electrical engineer with Consolidated Vultee and its successors, Convair, General Dynamics, and finally Lockheed Martin Corporation.  He contributed to a wide range of aircraft avionics systems starting with the B-36 Peacemaker, but also cutting-edge systems aboard the North American Aviation X-15 program (as a subcontractor) and numerous national and tactical airborne intelligence collection systems.  He was a former member of the Old Crows Association.  Proud of his accomplishments and the part he played from the beginning to the end of the Cold War, he was equally humble and rarely spoke about the critical national security work that he performed.

On Jan 26 1951, he married the former Barbara June White, who passed away in 2011.  Together, they were the proud parents of David Eugene Horton (Deborah Clyde Walker), Betty June Horton Temple (L. Parker), and Mary Ann Horton.  They were the loving grandparents to Patricia Lynn Temple (Michael McConnell), Christina Lee Temple (Alexey Toptygin), Haley Colleen (Horton) Newton (Chad) and Daniel Walker Horton (Jennifer), and six great grandchildren.

He moved his family to Granbury in 1957 and where he and the family were members of the First Baptist Church.  He was a Masonic Grandmaster, a Shriner, and a former City Councilman.   After retirement he volunteered with People Helping People.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Heart Association.