Michael Lee Horning, Sr.

August 21, 1950 to September 23, 2026

Michael Lee Horning, Sr., known to nearly everyone as "Big Mike," passed away suddenly and peacefully in his sleep on September 23, 2026, at the age of 76. He was the patriarch of a large and loving family, Uncle Mike to dozens of nieces and nephews and Papa to his six grandchildren. Every one of them held a special place in his heart. He was born in Olean, New York, to Alfred and Evelyn (Warren) Horning. He grew up in Franklinville, graduated from East Aurora High School in 1968, and made his home with his wife, Betsy, in Amherst for nearly 50 years.

Mike was a force of nature. He was bigger than life, and the room got brighter the moment he walked into it. Entrepreneurship and entertainment were the core of his soul. He built businesses, and he filled rooms with song, and he never saw much difference between the two. Both were ways of giving people something they did not have before.

The entrepreneur came first. Over a lifetime he was a stockbroker, a recognized inventor who held his own U.S. patent, and the founder of more businesses in more fields than anyone in the family can list. He never met a problem he did not immediately want to solve, and he was still sketching out his next invention until the day he passed.

That instinct came with a generous heart, and it showed up early. In the recession of the early 1980s, while managing a local roller skating arena, Mike opened the doors free of charge to Western New York's unemployed workers and their families, reasoning that people out of work still deserved a night out with their kids. On February 16, 1983, he received a personal letter from Ronald Reagan commending the program. Few people ever receive a letter from a President of the United States. Characteristically, Mike earned his by looking out for people having a hard time.

Fishing and classic cars were his lifelong passions. He chased walleye on Lake Erie with anyone he could fit in the boat, from his children and grandchildren to his extended family and friends. When he wasn't on the water, he was chasing old cars. Mike bought and sold classic automobiles for decades, shipping them across the country and around the world. His car business reached its peak during the years he ran Mike's Buggy Wash on Transit Road in East Amherst. At the same location he started Big Doggs, a food truck long before food trucks were known or popular. He ran it the way he wanted to, with big portions at a low price. A recent highlight was a trip to Scottsdale with his grandson Garrett to sell his prized 1956 Chevrolet Nomad at the Barrett-Jackson auction. He sold it with no reserve, meaning it would go to the highest bidder at any price. Rare is the man who would sell something he loved that way. Mike was one of them.

The entertainer was never far behind. If you asked the people of Western New York how they knew Big Mike, most would tell you about the piano. A locally renowned pianist and singer, Mike spent the last two decades of his life performing in assisted living centers and nursing homes throughout the region. He believed music was a gift owed to the aging community, and he saw firsthand what a familiar song could do: bring a memory back, bring a smile back, bring a person back to a moment from long ago. His signature was Frank Sinatra's "My Way," which was less a song choice than a description of his own life. At family gatherings, once he had worked his way through the classics from Billy Joel to Johnny Cash to Willie Nelson, the night always ended the same way: with the family song, "It's Hard to Be Humble," sung with no humility whatsoever.

Mike had a rare gift for seeing the good in people. His advice came softly, and it brought out the best in everyone lucky enough to receive it. He took people in as his own, and to many men he became a father figure. For nearly a decade he ran Mike's Blacktop Services, where the lessons went well beyond the work. Through long days of hard labor, he taught young men about life and pushed many of them, including his son, to earn an education rather than make blacktop their life's work. More than a few have told the family that Mike taught them how to be a man. Early in life he answered to “Farmer” among his East Aurora buddies and later to “Sly” among his friends. In time he became Big Mike, Uncle Mike, and Papa. Whatever you called him, he shaped countless lives in ways both large and quiet, and he leaves a legacy that will be felt for generations.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 54 years, Marcia "Betsy" (Herdlein) Horning; his daughter Nicole (the late Mark) Henneberg; his son Dr. Michael (Kimberly) Horning, Jr.; his grandchildren Derrick Horning, Garrett Henneberg, Gabrielle Henneberg, Corinne Henneberg, Evelyn Horning, and William Horning; his brothers Daniel (Becky) Horning and Charles Horning; his sister Laurie (Brendan) Calnan; his brothers- and sisters-in-law Maryann (Steve) Dawson, Dr. Richard (the late Sharon and the late Nancy) Herdlein III, Susan (the late James) Kennedy, and Thomas (Katie) Herdlein; his nieces and nephews Peter (Joni) Schmitt III, Deborah Schmitt, Paul (Suzanne) Schmitt, Sean Kennedy, Daniel Kennedy, Richard Herdlein IV, Jon (Dora Cheung) Herdlein, James (Kristin) Herdlein, Erinn Kennedy (Gary) Blaser, Brendan (Felisha) Herdlein, Shannon (Andy) Faber, John (Melissa) Calnan, Ryan Calnan, Kennedy Horning, Matthew Horning, and Augustus Horning; his great-nieces and great-nephews Tricia Schmitt (David) Teribury, Peter (Danielle) Schmitt IV, Paul Schmitt, Jr., and Eliana Calnan; and many great-great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Alfred and Evelyn Horning, and his brother-in-law Paul Herdlein.

Per Mike's wishes, there will be no funeral service. Family and friends are invited to a celebration of his life on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Lombardo Funeral Home, 885 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, NY 14226.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you do what Mike did: play a song for someone who needs to hear it, or visit someone who has not had a visitor in a while.