Neil W. Horstman

Neil Williard Horstman died on Sunday, February 2, 2020 in Madison, GA, after a brief illness.   Born in Moundsville, WV in 1946, he grew up in Canton, Ohio.  Mr. Horstman was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Louise Horstman.  He is survived by his wife, Anne H. Horstman, their daughter, Stasia Jurgensen Stinespring, (Robbie), grandchildren Elizabeth and William Stinespring of Atlanta, GA, and aunt Mrs. Robert Horstman, Buchanan, WV. 

Mr. Horstman graduated from Glennville High School in Canton, the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, and received his Masters of Public Affairs from Indiana University.  He received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Goucher College, Baltimore, MD.  Neil lectured and taught on historic preservation issues and on community planning around the country.  He and his wife frequently taught together at the Preservation Institute:  Nantucket Island-University of Florida.

Horstman was a well-known figure in historic preservation. Notable rescues of threatened and abandoned architecture in Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, Missouri, and Savannah, Georgia, were his achievements as director of nonprofit preservation societies in those cities. As he preserved, he planned, lending his expertise in community development to revivals of whole urban neighborhoods and districts. He went to George Washington’s Mount Vernon as resident director in 1987, serving for seven years.  In 1994 he became president of the White House Historical Association.  Mr. Horstman retired from the Association in 2014 after a distinguished career of twenty years.

In 2014, Neil and his wife, Anne, retired to Madison, GA to reside in the Valley Farm neighborhood. Neil serves on the board of the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, and heads the Revolving Fund Committee for the Madison-Morgan Conservancy. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations may be made to the MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER Museum Fund at 434 South Main Street, Madison, Georgia 30650 or MADISON-MORGAN CONSERVANCY Revolving Fund at P.O. Box 752, Madison, Georgia 30650

A reception for family and friends will be held at the Farmhouse, 520 Elm Street in Valley Farm neighborhood in Madison, GA on Saturday, February 8, 2020 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

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