‘There was nobody else like Kevin’

Career electrician loved cars, music and food

By: Jim Timlick

Whenever Angie Horn passes by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, she can’t help but think about her late father.

Kevin Horn was 68 when he died in July as a result of a rare form of blood cancer known as myelodysplastic syndromes or MDS.

Horn worked as an electrician for nearly 40 years until his retirement from the trade in 2022. While he contributed to numerous construction projects around the province, the one job he took the most pride in was the museum.

The elder Horn installed all the back-lighting for the iconic, glowing, alabaster-clad ramps that carry guests between the museum’s various galleries. He also did the electrical work for the Israel Asper Tower of Hope, a 100-metre glass pinnacle designed to symbolize humanity’s aspirations that lights up every evening.

“He loved that job. He would come home and he would always talk about the alabaster staircase. We even have a couple of samples of the alabaster,” Angie says.

“And he loved that big spire. He thought it was funny the first time I visited the museum. I went up there and the staircase to it is glass and you can see through it. I was kind of crapping my pants going up that high and he was like, ‘You know what? I sat at the very tip of that and was able to look down on the city.’

“It was something he was really proud of.”

The spire and alabaster ramps aren’t the only evidence of Horn’s contribution to the museum. His name, along with those of 8,200 other tradespeople who were involved in its construction, are displayed on plaques that adorn the CMHR’s hallways.

“I think he thought it was pretty cool,” Angie says about her dad’s reaction to the tribute. “He worked so hard on it and he just thought the design and everything to do with the museum was really neat. And it was such a prominent project. He would always say to me, ‘When you’re driving over the bridge, think of me when the lights are on in the spire.’”

Horn knew early on that he wanted to become an electrician. As a teenager, he enrolled in the electrical trades technology program at Tec Voc High School. After graduating from the program in 1982, he temporarily moved to Calgary to complete his apprenticeship before returning to Winnipeg.

In addition to the museum, Horn also worked on several other prominent projects, including the new five-storey Women’s Hospital at the Health Sciences Centre. He contributed to a multitude of projects in numerous northern Manitoba communities and developed a genuine affection for the region and its people.

“He went to a lot of northern communities and he just loved flying into them in small planes and helicopters,” his daughter says.

As hard as he worked, Horn partied equally hard. As a young man, he loved to get together with his buddies to pound back some cold ones and maybe share a little reefer on occasion.

He was also a big car guy and could often be found driving down Portage Avenue on cruise night with his stereo blasting his favourite rock tunes.

“He lived life and didn’t put on airs. That was the genuine him that was doing all that stuff. He was always open with us kids. He loved to tell stories about his youth and being a rebel and would always say, ‘I’m not sure how we survived,’” Angie says, laughing.

Horn’s rebellious side was something Dennis Boyechko was familiar with. The duo first met when they were just 10 years old and remained close friends until Horn’s death.

One of Boyechko’s fondest memories of his friend was an epic road trip they took together when they turned 18 in a 1973 Chevy Nova. Horn had an uncle living in Victoria, B.C., at the time and the two of them had an epiphany one day: let’s go visit him.

They eventually made it out to Vancouver Island, but their arrival was slightly delayed owing to a rumoured run-in with the law in Saskatchewan.

“I remember everything about that trip. It was beautiful. We had the time of our lives,” Boyechko recalls. “We always had a good time together. He had such a great sense of humour. He was that person you wanted to hang out with, that you wanted to be around them all the time. He was charismatic. There was nobody else like Kevin.”

That fun-loving side never disappeared, not even after Horn married his teenage sweetheart Paulette Meilleur on June 11, 1977. Daughter Angie arrived five months later and younger brother Jason in 1982.

The couple met through mutual friends. Horn was 20 and Paulette was 17 at the time and it wasn’t long after that they decided to get married and become parents together.

“They didn’t know each other for a super-long time when they got pregnant. But my mom always said it was a blessing,” Angie says.

“Their love grew over the years and they just kind of grew up together and as parents. They still had so much fun. I remember all the parties and get-togethers they had at the house. Those relationships don’t always work, but theirs really sort of blossomed over time.”

One of Angie’s most enduring memories from her childhood is her dad’s passion for cooking. He was always in the kitchen, experimenting with new ingredients or recipes. And no expense was too great when it came to preparing food for family or friends when their parents were hosting a dinner at their East Kildonan home.

“Food was always an important aspect in our life. He just loved good food. It didn’t matter how broke we were. We always ate good food,” she says.

“It was interesting because my brother went on to become a chef. It became a competition in our house. It was like ‘Can dad outdo the chef in the family?’ He just loved to cook for us.”

Horn was equally passionate about music, especially classic rock. Name an artist and chances are Horn saw them play in Winnipeg. That includes Led Zeppelin, which played its one and only Winnipeg show at the old Winnipeg Arena on Aug. 29, 1970, as part of the Man-Pop Festival.

“That was a huge part of his life, going to concerts with friends and my mom. He went to so many concerts,” his daughter says.

As much as Horn loved life, he also had to endure his share of tragedy. Paulette, the love of his life, died in 2011 at 51 following a bout with lung cancer. It was an event he never truly recovered from, according to those close to him.

Horn, a proverbial glass-half-full type, would often remark that the loss of his wife inspired him to become an even better grandfather to his three grandchildren: Olivia, Hartlyn and Kiptyn.

“He was an amazing papa,” Angie says.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca