STANTON : Horton Eulogized as Humorous, Generous

City Councilman William H. Horton was eulogized Friday as a man of generosity and humor during a memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Cypress.

“I’m very grateful that I got to know him,” Councilman Sal Sapien, who campaigned against Horton in the November election, told a crowd of more than 100 friends and family members gathered to say their farewells.

Sapien told the group he had been developing a close friendship with Horton, who died of heart failure early Tuesday.

“He was like a Pepsi-Cola. He was the real thing,” Sapien said.

He praised Horton’s enthusiasm and integrity as a councilman. “When it was time for action, he wasn’t afraid to step up to the plate,” Sapien said, recalling Horton’s recent vote in favor of utility taxes in Stanton.

But most of all, Sapien said, “he was funny, and fun to be with.”

“My Way,” a song made famous by Frank Sinatra, was sung with organ accompaniment before the service. Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” was sung at the close.

“I knew him as a man who had a heart of gold,” said Allan Leader, Horton’s supervisor at Browning Automotive Group in Cerritos, where Horton was body shop manager.

Leader said Horton was a pleasure to work with, “particularly when he had a funny story to tell. . . . He couldn’t keep it inside.”

Chris Quintana, a longtime friend, said: “There’s not enough good things to say about the person. Bill was Bill.”

Quintana said he called Horton “Uncle Bill” as a sign of affection.

“It was one of his proudest days when he was elected in November,” said George Thilking, an ex-Navy chaplain who presided over the service, reading from a statement by the Horton family.

Horton was born in Depew, Okla., on Aug. 6, 1933. He moved to Michigan with his family when he was 4. After graduating from high school, he served in the Navy for three years. Upon his discharge, he began working in an automotive body shop.

Horton moved to Southern California in 1958 and to Stanton in 1979. He was the first Stanton council member to die in office. The council has 30 days to either appoint someone to fill his seat or hold a special election.