Loretta L. Horkman

( 12/24/1929 – 08/14/2020 )

Lodis Loretta (Martin) Horkman, aged 90, passed away peacefully in her sleep at 11:18 AM on Friday, August 14, 2020 at Brookdale Beckett Meadows assisted living facility in Austin, TX.  Loretta, was born on December 24, 1929 in Fayetteville, TN and at the age of 1, moved with her family to Harlingen, TX in 1930.  She moved to Austin, TX in 2016 due to declining health, and to be closer to her only child, James B. Horkman.  Loretta lived with her son in his Austin home from 2016 to 2019, when she suffered a fall, causing her to be moved briefly to Stonebridge Skilled Nursing Home, and then to Brookdale at Beckett Meadows assisted living facility. Loretta’s health continued to slowly decline, and after suffering another fall which resulted in a severely broken hip on August 12th, passed away on Friday, August 14th.  Due to social restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, her son, James Brett, was unable to personally see his mother from March 2020, until the evening of August 13th.

Loretta was one of eight children from Ollie Goodloe Martin Sr. & Annie Lee (Porter) Martin.  Loretta’s surviving siblings are Emma Jean (Martin) Phillips of Arlington, TX, and George E. Martin of Montgomery, TX. Loretta’s siblings preceding her in death are : Opal Lee (Martin) Hance of San Benito, TX., Juanita (Martin) Chappelle of Garden Grove, CA., Ollie Goodloe Martin Jr. of Harlingen, TX., Edith O. Martin of Harlingen, TX., and Barbara (Martin) Pockrus of Laguna Vista, TX.  Loretta’s husband of 50 years, James Phillip Horkman, preceded her in death in 2008.  Jim & Loretta Horkman were married in 1957 in Harlingen, TX, their only child, James Brett Horkman, was born in 1959.

Loretta leaves behind many close friends, nieces, grand nieces, nephews, grand nephews, cousins, and extended family living in Texas, California, Arizona, Tennessee, and Alabama.  Her son, James B Horkman, still resides in Austin, TX.  Loretta lived a long, happy, and fulfilling life.  She began her long career in 1949, working as a telephone operator for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. She remained a telephone operator for the vast majority of her 31-year career, retiring in 1980 at the age of 50.  For approximately the next 10 years, she worked for the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District at the Treasure Hills Elementary School taking care of younger elementary students in the afternoons while waiting for their parents to take them home.  After retiring from the school district in 1990, Loretta spent many pleasant and enjoyable years with her husband and son as she engaged in fishing from her weekend home in Port Mansfield, TX., along with extensive and numerous travels to places like Pearl Harbor, Washington D.C., Branson, MO., and the state of Alaska via travel on cruise ship.  In her later years, particularly after the death of her husband in 2008, Loretta became very close to her older sister, Opal Lee Hance, and her entire family. After her sister, Opal, died in 2013, Loretta spent time with her close friends she made while working, and in 2014, moved to the Golden Palms retirement community in Harlingen, TX, where she stayed until 2016.  All who knew Loretta, will never forget her kind, vivacious, and gregarious personality – she will be sorely missed. God Bless us All in these trying times.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, August 22, 2020 at San Benito Funeral Home with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM. A live stream service will be available at www.sanbenitofuneralhome.com.

For those desiring, memorial donations can be in Loretta’s name to a charity of your choice.