Jack "Jake" Harrison Van Horn Sr.

Jake Harrison VanHorn Sr., born March 13, 1971, died on June 2, 2024, at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, after a long battle with diabetes.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 14, 2024 at the Holechek-Bondegard Funeral Home in Chappell with Pastor Martin Flaming officiating.

Holechek-Bondegard Funeral Home in Chappell is serving the VanHorn family.

Jake grew up in Western Montana and loved to be outside. He rodeoed in high school and played football and wrestled. He was a true and loyal friend with a goofy sense of humor about him. He went to horseshoeing school in Montana and worked on ranches. Being a cowboy was his true calling. He loved working with horses and cattle. He moved to Grand Island, Nebraska, to work in a feedlot, thinking the weather would be warmer. He did not realize what humidity was. After that, he thought he should have kept going south!

He did not end up going south, though. Nor did he travel back north. He stayed in Central Nebraska. There he met good friends and eventually moved out to Western Nebraska where, in 2001, he met Patsy Baker. Later on September 5, 2004, Jake and Patsy were married.  Together, they moved to Gillette, Wyoming, where their daughter, Bailey, was born. Not long after that, they moved back to Ogallala, Nebraska.

Jake worked at some different jobs until health issues got in the way. He then started his own leather shop. This was a dream of his since long before he and Patsy met. He ran his own business with the help of family for 10 years. Jake and Patsy welcomed their son, Jack Jr., during this time.

Jake was forced to close his shop as his diabetes worsened.

He enjoyed hunting, working with leather, and hanging out with family. He loved his kids, and wanted to show them all the things in life that he could. He wanted them to learn all the lessons the easy way, instead of the hard way - how he had learned them.

Jake is preceded in death by his father, Jack Harrison VanHorn; stepfather, Jerry Gasho; grandparents, James and Gladys VanHorn, Chester and Rose Gasho, Charles Keith, and Ada Moore; and his nephew, Bryer Wilson.

He is survived by his wife, Patsy VanHorn; his kids, Bailey and Jack VanHorn; his mother, Linda Gasho; sister-in-law, Lisa (Gabe) Wilson; nieces, Brianna and Annlyn Wilson; nephew, Truman (Caroline) Wilson; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to the VanHorn Family for funeral expenses and Bailey and Jack’s school expenses.