John Edward Horejsi

John Horejsi, age 83, and a resident of Vienna, Virginia, for 49 years, died of cancer on August 4.

John was born on June 9, 1940, in Bechyn, Minnesota, the fourth son of Anton Wenceslaus, Sr., and Ann Frank Horejsi. When his mother died, he went into relative care with the William and Rose Goblish family at the age of 3. He attended school in Minnesota District #7, a one-room school for the first six grades. John liked to claim the single-room school is where he got his best education. He graduated from Redwood Falls High School in 1958. John was the first in his family to attend college and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Political Science in 1962. Shortly after he received his undergraduate degree, he received a graduate degree, a double master’s degree in social work (MSW) and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Missouri.

He was married to Mariann Reznick in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 1, 1969. At the time, John was working in the St. Louis City Welfare Office, serving as the deputy director of a large social work staff. While there, he administered the federally mandated demonstration project that successfully launched the National Food Stamp Program, which was patroned by Congresswoman Lenora Sullivan of St. Louis. When the Missouri governor announced budget cuts to Old Age Assistance, Disabled, Blind and Aid for Children Programs, John encouraged his large staff to distribute appeal forms to all saying the cuts would hurt their families. The resulting number of appeals filed, the public backlash, and the media coverage persuaded the governor to cancel the proposed cuts and support much needed increases.

John moved to Vienna in 1974, to work in professional development and technical assistance with the Office of Family Assistance Welfare Management Institute (WMI)—now located in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS).

It was during the 1980s that John began dedicating his own time to addressing the structural causes of poverty, first as a volunteer member of the Arlington Catholic Charities Board and then as a founder of SALT (Social Action Linking Together). Originally a small Catholic diocesan volunteer group, SALT has grown into a large active organization, with over a thousand members today. For almost forty years, John has led SALT advocates in many concrete efforts: ending nationally the sales tax on Food Stamps, passage of the Homeless Intervention Program, and the Virginia Earned Income Tax Credit (VEITC). Other SALT accomplishments under his leadership include increasing TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits for eligible Virginians and the ending of shackling women prisoners during labor. John, through SALT advocacy, has worked for years to make government serve the needs of those having few to speak in support of them.

Survivors include his wife Mariann, daughter Kristine, and granddaughter Gabrielle (Gabby) Mays; brother Anton Horejsi, Jr. and sister-in-law Delores; brother Richard Horejsi and sister-in-law Joanne, of Minnesota; sister Mary Ann Hoffmann of Sleep Eye, MN; and numerous nieces and nephews. John was pre-deceased by brothers Daniel, in a farm accident, in 1969, and James Goblish, of cancer, in 2018.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mark Catholic Church, 9970 Vale Road, Vienna, VA on Monday, August 21 at 11:00am.  In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity. Online condolences and fond memories of John may be offered to the family at www.moneyandking.com