M.A. "Ike" Eichhorn

EICHHORN -- M.A. "Ike", died Tuesday, May 23, 2006, in Tulsa, OK. He was born December 18, 1923, in Ashland, MT. Growing up on a depression-era ranch just a few miles from the Canadian border, he learned at a young age what it meant to work hard and what it meant to be cold. Very cold. His work ethic never left him, but as soon as his means would allow, Ike left the harsh Montana plains and began amassing a formidable collection of coats. His escape from the cold came in the form of voluntary enlistment papers, and Ike went on to serve his country with distinction as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. His service was recognized with a Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross, among many other medals and commendations. After the war, Ike returned to marry his sweetheart, and the first love of his life, Zelma Mae "Skippy" Neal. By his mid-twenties he owned and operated his own service station, graduating a few years later to the ownership of a movie theater. These early ventures set the course for a life that would be guided by entrepreneurial spirit, a spirit that would soon be channeled into the second love of his life: the furniture business. Ike founded Horn Brothers Furniture in 1962, a retail chain of stores that served Northeastern Oklahoma and Northwestern Arkansas for a number of years. Literally unable to pursue leisure for more than a one-hour stretch (at least without complaining that there was furniture to be sold), Ike grew bored with retirement and founded North Carolina Furniture Mart in 1990, at the age of 67. His family assumed the venture would amount to little more than a diversion, but it showed such early promise that he soon enlisted several of his once-skeptical children and grandchildren to help grow the company into a successful family business that continues to serve Tulsa and the surrounding area. The company (and its core of wonderfully loyal and hardworking employees), was a constant source of joy for Ike, and served as the perfect capstone to a remarkably full life. Surviving are his wife, Zelma Mae "Skippy"; son, Donald, and his wife, Ty; son, Robert, and his wife, Brenda; daughter, Jeri Bomer, and her husband, Don; 8 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; and his beloved Chihuahua, "Pico". A Memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2006 at Moore's Southlawn Chapel. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in honor of his wife, to the Tulsa Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, 6465 S. Yale, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74136.