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(April 6, 1967 - Aug. 20, 2014)
April LaRee Wirth Hornbeck, lovingly known as Grape Ape to her sisters, died at the young age of 47 on Aug. 20, 2014, in Portland, Ore.
April was born on April 6, 1967, to Steve and Elaine Wirth. She grew up in Wyoming with three sisters: Maylee, Laurel and Sarah. She graduated from Riverton High School and went on to Ricks College, where she met her eternal companion, Kurtis Hornbeck. They were married in the Seattle temple.
She spent most of her married life in Klamath Falls, Ore., where she served in numerous callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
April was a devoted mother not only to her own children but to others as well. She had an incredible sense of humor and always made people laugh, even during her last days on earth.
April suffered from a rare lung disease (pulmonary capillary hemangeotitus) all her life and received a double lung transplant in October 2011. After a long struggle of healing, she had the opportunity to be a grandma to two beautiful grandchildren.
The family is eternally grateful to the lung donor for allowing them to have her for almost three more years. She enjoyed the short time she had to live without the aid of oxygen and the joy of being able to do things with her family that she had not been able to do before.
April is survived by her loving and devoted husband Kurtis and five children: Kaylee (Stephane) Couturier of Klamath Falls, Ore., Nickole (Kole) Richmond of Greybull, Heidi Kennon and Holly Hornbeck of Klamath Falls. Also surviving are two grandchildren, Matthias and Melody Couturier; her parents Steve and Elaine Wirth of Wapiti; sisters Maylee (Kent) Lemon of Lake Shore, Utah; and Laurel (Daren) Anderson of Orem, Utah; 31 loving nieces and nephews and many other extended family members.
April was preceded in death by her sister Sarah, who died in 2010 from the same lung disease as April; her father-in-law Gary Hornbeck; grandparents Margaret and Jim Wirth and Ken and Elizabeth Enes and numerous other loved ones.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, in the Byron LDS Chapel with burial to follow at the Byron Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services in the Relief Society Room.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home in Powell.
Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.thompsonfuneral.net or to P.O. Box 807 Powell, WY, 82435.
