The trucking industry lost another brilliant and influential person when Mike Horan (50) of Lafayette, IN passed away on August 7, 2024, after a two-year battle with cancer. Known for his almost 20 years at RoadWorks as a product designer and pioneer, Mike was also a loving husband and dad, an friendly person that could talk to anyone, and a friend to the entire 10-4 family, and so many others in trucking. He fought stage 4 cancer like a warrior, never complaining, and always optimistic that the next treatment would buy him time – and sometimes it did.
Born on March 18, 1974, on the south side of Chicago, Mike was around trucks for most of his life. Some of his earliest memories included trucks. Back then, his father owned his own trucking company, and Mike could still remember one of his Freightliner cabovers. In those years, his dad owned many truck brands, but never a Peterbilt, but Mike eventually forgave him for that. In the 70s, his father took a management position with Truck-O-Mat in South Holland, IL. He was later promoted and accepted the GM position to operate Truck-O-Mat’s Council Bluffs, IA location, so Mike and his family moved to the Omaha, Nebraska, area where Mike remained until graduating from high school.
Once out of high school, Mike moved back to the Chicago area and enrolled at Purdue University Northwest, where he studied Business Management. He worked full time while being a full time student, eventually landing a dock job at Overnite Transportation in South Holland, IL. Working on the dock, one night they were short a yard spotter, and they asked if anyone could drive a truck. Mike ended up spotting trailers for eight hours that night in a twin screw Mack with no power steering. The following day he was taken off the dock and made a spotter, which was one of his all-time favorite jobs.
Leaving college before graduating, Mike thought he might want to be a plumber, and became an apprentice for about a year. Once he decided that was not what he wanted to do, he got a job at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, IA as an assistant manager. He worked in Walcott until 1999 and then was transferred to a location in Joplin, MO. During his time with Iowa 80, he made a lifelong friend in the industry – Susan Linson of RoadWorks. Mike described their paths crossing as “divine intervention” that led to an amazing work relationship and friendship.
Susan had just resurrected RoadWorks from bankruptcy and was rebuilding the fledgling accessories business, and Mike kept coming up with product ideas and sharing them with Susan. Whenever they talked, and that was almost every day, Susan would tell Mike that he should come to work for her. Finally, in 2000, while still in Joplin, they came to an agreement, and Mike moved to Lafayette and went to work for RoadWorks as a product designer. When Mike joined RoadWorks, there were only a handful of employees and maybe a thousand part numbers, and when he left them in 2018, shortly after Susan sold the company to a larger corporation and retired, the company had over 25,000 part numbers. When asked how many of those Mike had a hand in designing, Susan bluntly said, “All of them!”
After leaving RoadWorks in June of 2018, Mike joined the Lincoln Chrome team in Lincoln, NE. Unfortunately, his job was eliminated during the Covid shutdowns in 2020. Later that year, he purchased a fiber laser, a press break, and a punch machine and began making private label products for a few dealers in the US, as well as teaming up with Dustin Dickerson at Dickerson Custom Trucks in Indiana, making all the parts he needed for his custom builds on his machines, in a back room he rented in their shop.
Things were going good until September of 2022 when Mike was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer. He immediately began treatment/chemotherapy later that same month. Things went okay at first, so he continued to work full time during treatment. At some point, things got worse, and he could no longer work. It was not fair or sustainable to expect Dustin to keep both his business and Mike’s going, so he sold all the machines, tooling, and materials to Dustin. Mike remained involved in the business and continued to help whenever possible. Dustin was very good to Mike and his family through all this and became like family.
While attending college, Mike had a class with a girl who caught his eye. Claudia was a tough but sweet, no-nonsense girl from the mean streets of Chicago, and she had no time for this quiet guy, who kept sitting next to her and trying to talk to her. One day he came into class with a broken leg, and she felt sorry for him, so she agreed to take him out to lunch since he couldn’t drive – or so he told her. Mister “big spender” took her to Taco Bell that day, but she eventually realized he was a sweet and caring man. Together since 1992, they got married in 2000, and went on to have and raise two amazing kids – their daughter Emily (22) and son Liam (19).
When we say “Mike never met a stranger” it is really true. He had the gift of gab and could sell ice to an Eskimo! He was fiercely loyal to family, friends, Canon cameras, and his beloved Toyota vehicles. He always put family first, and never missed things like soccer games, band recitals, orchestra, and field trips, which he often volunteered to chaperone or coach. He tried never to miss a wedding, funeral, anniversary, or birthday, and if anyone was in need, including strangers, he was always the first to step up. He lived by the philosophy that if he could make a difference, that was what he was going to do.
Being a devout catholic, Mike went to catholic schools when growing up, and it was important to him that they get married in a catholic church, that their kids get baptized and confirmed in the faith, and to have a “home” church, which was where his traditional funeral mass was held. St. Mary Cathedral in Lafayette is a beautiful church that was built in 1866, and it provided a peaceful and comforting place for Mike’s final service to be held on August 13, 2024. Surrounded by family and friends, Mike’s casket was loaded on the back of a Peterbilt, and then a small convoy of trucks followed it in a procession to the cemetery, where Mike was laid to rest at the Spring Vale Cemetery.
My relationship with Mike was mostly on the phone, as we were both really busy with work and family, but we did see each other a few times a year at truck shows. Mike loved making deals, and one of his “hobbies” was buying and selling camera gear. When my business partner and friend Erik “Big E” Sieben died, Mike helped me sell a ton of extra camera gear and helped me get an entire new rig for myself. I could even call him for advice when I was having an issue, and he would always pick up the phone. He went on to help four of our contributors “up their game” with new gear. It would be fair to say that 75% of the pictures you see in 10-4 Magazine these days were shot with a camera from Mike.
Being a very traditional person, Mike was always kind, never mean, did not gossip, was caring and forgiving, and his family always came first. He spoke about his “spicy” Latino wife all the time and told stories about her, but since none of us at the truck shows had ever actually met her, we started teasing Mike that she didn’t really exist and that he made her up – we called her the Unicorn. But I finally got to meet her at the funeral and talk to her afterward at length for this article, and it was such a treat. I am not sure why Mike hid her away from everyone all those years, but he sure had a special wife, and I am glad I got to meet her and get to know her.
One of Mike’s regrets was not going to the doctor sooner. Had he listened more to his body and got the proper check-ups, his situation may have ended differently. As everyone knows, early detection is key to beating cancer, so Mike spent some of his final time preaching to anyone who would listen about getting a colonoscopy done when required or when something wasn’t right. If that is you – just do it! Do not wait, because waiting will probably just make things worse.
As you can imagine, battling stage 4 cancer for two years can be very expensive, even if you have good insurance. To help pay for some of those monumental medical bills that stacked up, we here at 10-4 Magazine, along with Michelle and Steve Ford of Largecar Magazine, teamed up to start a GoFundMe page for Mike’s family. You can find links on both of our publication’s social media pages, so please find it and donate, no matter how small. It all adds up, and it is the least we all can do for someone who gave so much of his life helping to make the trucking industry shine – literally.
“Doing what you like is fun, but liking what you do is happiness,” and this phrase defined Mike Horan perfectly. He loved making new parts for trucks, he loved being creative and solving problems, he loved the people in the trucking industry, he loved making people feel good, and he loved his family and friends, and all that love made him a happy person. Mike will be missed by those who know him, and also by those who do not, because the stainless truck accessory industry will never be the same. The next time a shiny truck passes by you, think of Mike, because he probably had a hand in that! Rest in peace, my friend, until we meet again.
