Jan Hornbeck; Office Designer for 40 Years

Jan Hornbeck, an interior designer known for her people-oriented office buildings, died Sunday of complications following surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. She was 68.

Hornbeck’s sister, Betty Bruce of Costa Mesa, said that although the designer had been battling cancer since 1973, she entered Centro Medico del Mar on March 24 for surgery unrelated to that condition.

A 1941 graduate of the Chicago Academy of Arts and a daughter of a theater owner in Shawnee, Okla., Hornbeck credited her early exposure to the visual arts with sparking an interest in improving the environment of office workers.

Hornbeck worked briefly for Barker Brothers in Los Angeles and then Neiman-Marcus in Dallas, where she became interested in individualizing executive offices.

She returned to Los Angeles and established her own firm. The designer questioned business executives about their tastes in lighting, color and furniture before embarking on remodeling projects, and her personal approach quickly produced an expanding list of clients.

During her 40-year career, Hornbeck left her imprint on such diverse structures as the Port Authority building in Guayaquil, Ecuador; the Occidental Life Insurance offices in Honolulu, and the Department of Water and Power in Long Beach.

Since 1959, she had been a consultant to Times Mirror Co., where she contributed to the design of its corporate headquarters and The Times editorial and business offices.

Hornbeck was a charter and board member of the American Society of Interior Designers and the Professional Women’s Committee for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1975, she was named a Times Woman of the Year in recognition of her civic and professional contributions.

Survivors include her husband, Thomas G. Gage, a builder; daughters Pamela Lord and Linda Gage; sisters Betty Bruce and Patsie Garner, and one granddaughter.

Services are pending.