Kathleen Hornell

Lady Kathleen Hornell
Born	July 1, 1890 Sussex, England
Died	September 24, 1977 London, England
NSA member	British Isles 1936 - 1945

Lady Kathleen Veronica Hornell (July 1, 1890 - September 24, 1977) was a British Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles and later pioneered to Ireland and Italy.

Biography

Hornell was born Kathleen Veronica Walker in Sussex, England, in 1890 to Dr. Augustus Hayter Walker and Anna Louisa. In her youth she married a Mr. Brown at some point and they had a daughter, Mary, in 1916.

In October 1922 Hornell first became aware of the Bahá’í Faith in London and she was taught about the religion by Elizabeth Herrick becoming a Bahá’í in April 1923. She was an active member of the community being elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of London in 1932, and later being appointed to the British Publishing Trust Committee, National Teaching Committee, and Summer School Committee. In 1936 she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles and she served until 1945, except for a one and a half year period during the Second World War when she pioneered to Torquay to maintain the Local Spiritual Assembly.

In June 1941 Brown's daughter married Hasan Balyuzi who served on the National Assembly with her, and in 1946 Brown remarried to Sir William Woodward Hornell and began going by the title Lady Hornell. She pioneered to Nottingham in October 1945 and remained at her post until 1950 when her husband passed away.

In early 1951 Hornell made a travel teaching trip to Scotland visiting Edinburgh and Glasgow where she gave public talks on the Faith. She visited Belfast, Ireland, in November 1951 where she faced opposition from attendees of her talk who felt the Faith was opposed to Christianity although a Buddhist attendee defendedher. She pioneered to Belfast in 1953 and assisted the community for a period then pioneered to nearby Bangor where she helped establish a Local Spiritual Assembly in 1959.

In July 1960 Hornell pioneered to Venice, Italy, to support a goal of the Ten Year Crusade and she remained in Venice until 1965 when she pioneered to Cagliari in Sardinia. She returned to England in her later years and passed away in London in 1977. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:

PASSING LADY HORNELL ROBS BRITISH COMMUNITY ONE OF FEW REMAINING LINKS EARLY DAYS FAITH. HER UNWAVERING FAITH CONSTANT DEDICATED SERVICES PIONEER TEACHING ADMINISTRATIVE FIELDS OVER SO MANY YEARS ASSURE HER HIGH STATION ANNALS CAUSE PROVIDE SHINING EXAMPLE PRESENT FUTURE GENERATIONS. ADVISE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL MEETING. ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS SACRED THRESHOLD PROGRESS HER LOVING SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.