Robert John Horan

Robert John Horan was born September 11, 1937, in Highland Park, Michigan. He was the eldest child of John and Dorothy (née Hubbert) Horan, and big brother to Elaine DiPirro (Albert), all of whom preceded him in death. Bob attended St. Rita High School and the University of Detroit before receiving his BS at Michigan State University with a major in Police Administration. Following college graduation, he was a member of the Detroit Police Department while also serving in the Army Reserves.

His lifetime ambition was to become a United States Secret Service agent, and these initial assignments gave him invaluable law enforcement experience to achieve that goal. During this time Bob met Sandra Lee Neal, who became the love of his life. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, he was accepted into the United States Secret Service.

Together Bob and Sandy raised three beautiful daughters, Pamela, Andrea, and Jennifer as they moved around the country following his career working in the USSS field offices in St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Bob’s love of travel grew over the years, as he visited six of the seven continents while protecting Johnson, Nixon, Kissinger, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. One of his most cherished highlights as an agent was being assigned to Pope John Paul II during his 1987 trip to the United States which included audiences in Detroit. Bob's faith was evident to all who knew him. On an earlier trip with Dr. Kissinger to the Vatican, Kissinger was presented with a papal medal. Knowing the significance it would have for him, the Secretary of State then gifted the medal to Bob. 

After his USSS retirement in 1988, Bob became the Manager of Bank Security at the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Virginia. In 1998 he retired a second time, when he and Sandy moved to Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. They enjoyed over 20 years there and became very involved parishioners at Resurrection Catholic Church in Moneta. In 2019, they moved up to Northern Virginia to live at the Waltonwood community in Ashburn, Virginia to be closer to family.

Despite playing football in high school, he was a huge fan of baseball and looked forward to visiting new ballparks for games on family vacations. Bob enjoyed listening to music – Big Band Era tunes, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Classic Country, and The Beach Boys (especially “Barbara Ann” - if you know, you know) were among his favorites. He was talented at refinishing antique furniture and was an early upcycler before it was trendy, building bars out of empty bourbon barrels. He was quite a prankster, loved good mystery novels, and was known to play a mean hand of 99 back in the day, then more recently daily domino dates after lunch!

Bob will be incredibly missed by Sandy, his devoted wife of 62 years; loving daughters Pamela Woltner, Andrea Kessler (Michael), and Jennifer Horan (Kevin Cryan); grandchildren Lyndsay Woltner, Emily Gregor (Matt), Andrew Kessler, Bradley Kessler; and countless extended family and friends far and wide, including his cat Missy. 

Memorial services for Bob will be celebrated on Friday, February 28th, 2025, at St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church in Reston. Visitation Hour will begin at 10 AM, followed by the Funeral Mass at 11 AM, with a reception immediately following in the church auditorium. For those unable to attend in person, the Funeral Mass will be available for streaming following this link. Burial will take place at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Moneta, Virginia, at a future time.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bob’s name to: United States Secret Service Association Scholarship Foundation or Alzheimer’s Association.