Watson Horne

Samuel Watson Horne, 82, of Cleveland, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Wednesday, May 8, 2019.  He fought a valiant battle against Parkinsons and diabetes.  Having had diabetes for almost 69 years, he had a wealth of knowledge and experience that he shared with others.  At the time of his retirement in November, he was Cleveland’s oldest barber. He had been a barber since 1961.  He was a member of Westmore Church of God.  Watson enjoyed fishing, listening to the Gaither’s, and visiting with and ministering to friends, family, and customers as they sat in his chair.

Watson was born in Greston, GA, the oldest child of Jeff and Annie Horne.  At the age of 14, a group from Lee College came to his church in LaGrange, GA, and made such an impression on him that he gave his heart to the Lord and knew that he wanted to attend school there.  Upon graduating high school in 1956, Watson went to Lee.  There he met his wife, Annis Campbell.  They married in 1958 and had Lynette and Letha in Cleveland.  They moved to LaGrange, GA, where Debbie was born and he also gained his barber’s license.  Watson felt he needed to return to Lee and finish his degree, which he did and graduated in 1968.  During this time, he cut hair in Walker Hall.  Upon graduating, he stayed in Cleveland and continued to barber.  Carmen was born in Cleveland.  Cutting hair was not only a passion of his and a way to make a living, it was also a way for him to minister to and be a blessing to countless people in Cleveland and beyond. After working for others, he opened Horne’s Creative Hair Designs in 1975.  The name came from the way that he saw each customer’s head as a canvas to display his creative works of art.  He counted his customers as friends. He was the most awesome barber who serenaded his customers with his glorious Gaither worthy pipes of vibrato. He was always ready to go fishing and would take willing participants out in his small john boat.  Watson also worked on other people’s cars and enjoyed tinkering with gadgets.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 ½ years, Annis Ruth Campbell Horne, and parents, Jeff Herman Horne and Annie Maude Ross Horne.

Watson is survived by his four daughters,  Lynette (Terry) Hafley of Cleveland; Letha (Steve) McCurry of Cleveland; Debbie (Ben) Smith of Fort Worth, TX;  Carmen Darnell (Jay Headrick) of Dalton, GA; eleven  grandchildren, Jason Hafley, Tanner (Amber) Hafley,  Jared (Sarah) McCurry, Erica (Brandon) Welch, Dr. Tyler (Lillian) McCurry, Piper (Joseph) Thomas, Mal Smith (Amber Laney), Jessica (David) Cervantes, Jimmy Darnell, Kaity Darnell (Kameron Sanchez), and Maci Headrick; fifteen great grandchildren, Cole Hafley, Claire Hafley, Landon Hafley, Jonah Hafley, Adia Welch, Lachlan Welch, Adelaide Welch, Abby Knecht, Charlee McCurry, Maggie McCurry, Liam McCurry, Koyt Thomas, Korben Thomas, Kayson Sanchez and Kaiser Sanchez; one brother, Vaden (Amy) Horne of LaGrange GA, and one sister, Mable (Russell) Short of Roanoke VA; several nieces and nephews; caregiver and friend, Linda Bafford.

Funeral services will be held at Westmore Church of God at 1:00 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2019 with Vaden Horne officiating.  Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens with a white dove release ceremony concluding the service.  Grandsons will serve as pallbearers with sons-in-law and grandsons-in-law serving as honorary pallbearers.

The family will receive friends from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Sunday at Serenity  (formerly Grissom) Funeral and one hour prior to the service at the church.

The family requests that memorials be made to Hospice of Chattanooga/Cleveland team or the American Diabetes Association.