Born: 07/31/1929
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Died: 07/20/2026
Burlington, Vermont
Details of service:
The family will hold a private burial. There will be a Memorial Service, at a later date. Arrangements are through Day Funeral Home, Randolph, Vermont and Vermont Forest Cemetery in Roxbury.
Gerald Kenneth (Jed) Hornung II, age 96, passed away on July 20, 2026, surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness. Gerald was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on July 31, 1929, the son of Gerald Kenneth Hornung and Hazel Emily Ruedy Hornung.
Jed lived a life of faith, service, integrity and leadership. He used his many skills and achievements to lead organizations he cared about and to help others. He enjoyed people and could talk to anyone. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Jed attended Classen High School in Oklahoma City, where he learned to be a debater and went on to be a National Debate Champion through the National American Legion Oratorical contest. He was then elected the first National President of the American Junior Red Cross, a youth organization with 20 million members during World War II. Later, in 2018, Jed was named an “Everyday Hero” by the Vermont American Red Cross for 70 years of service.
Majoring in Government and Economics, Jed graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1951. He was elected President of his Senior Class and his fraternity, and was chosen for PE-ET, which annually honors the 10 most outstanding campus seniors. After graduation, he went from being a member of the Air Force R.O.T.C., to active duty in the United States Air Force, becoming a Captain, during the Korean War. In 1952, he married his sweetheart Virginia (Jini) Ann Spain in Frederick, Oklahoma. They would go on to be married for over 74 wonderful years.
After his military service, he attended Law School at the University of Oklahoma. He served as Managing Editor of the Oklahoma Law Review and was elected President of the honor law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta.
Following admission to the Oklahoma Bar Association, he joined the New York City investment banking firm Wertheim & Co. and attended New York University Graduate School of Business. In 1970 he became a Wertheim & Co. General Partner and the Senior Vice President of four Wertheim subsidiaries.
Jed was active in the United Methodist Church all his life. He and Jini had many good friends through their involvement in many churches. After moving to New England, they raised their three children and were active for twenty-two years at the Norwalk, Connecticut United Methodist Church and Jed was a Trustee of the New York United Methodist Conference. In 1978 he became CEO (General Secretary) of the United Methodist General Board of Pensions, one of the largest pension funds in America. Later in Vermont, they were active in the Middlesex, Shelburne, and North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Churches.
He lived a life using his Christian faith, leadership abilities, and investment acumen to volunteer and assist numerous non-profit organizations, seminaries, colleges, and churches. He organized and for 48 years served as President of the Gerald and Virginia Hornung Family Foundation. The Foundation is now managed by Vanguard Charitable.
His fraternity friendships in college led him to become a Director of the Alpha Tau Omega Foundation. He was a founding Director and the first Treasurer of LeaderShape, which now provides ethical leadership training to students of all genders on more than 85 college campuses.
Other volunteer positions included serving as a Trustee for the United Methodist Reporter Foundation, Dallas, Texas; three United Methodist seminaries: Garrett-Evangelical, Evanston, Illinois; Methodist Seminary in Delaware, Ohio, and Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. He did the same for the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation, Nashville, Tennessee.
Jed and Jini lived in Woodstock, from 1988 until 2004. They enjoyed the scenery and many friendships and many volunteer activities. Jed served as Treasurer of the town of Woodstock. He also enjoyed being involved with the Woodstock Historical Society, Senior Center, Rotary Club, and the Woodstock Round Table. He was a Trustee of Green Mountain College in Poultney. He also served on the board of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, Plymouth. Jed and Jini moved to Wake Robin in Shelburne in 2004 and enjoyed many friendships and activities there. They both loved to travel and visited many spots in the U.S. and around the world.
Jed had a deep, abiding love for his wife and family, which he expressed often. He is survived by his wife Jini, of Shelburne, his daughter Kimberly Hornung-Marcy and son-in-law Theodore Marcy of Williston, grandchildren Ariel and her wife Kristina Marcy, Jordan Marcy; his daughter Leslie and son-in-law Timothy Wallstrom of Los Alamos, New Mexico, granddaughters Sarah, Rachel, and Miriam Wallstrom, and his son Gerald Kenneth Hornung III and his fiancé Rene Juza of Boise, Idaho, and granddaughter Heather Hornung Smith and her husband Heyden Smith.
Jed was preceded in death by his parents Gerald Kenneth and Hazel Hornung and his brother-in-law Robert Spain.
The family will hold a private burial. There will be a Memorial Service, at a later date. Arrangements are through Day Funeral Home, Randolph and Vermont Forest Cemetery, Roxbury. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church, the Shelburne United Methodist Church, or the American Red Cross.
