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February 17, 2022
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
Young chaplain one of Valley’s longest serving BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Peoria Times Staff Writer
Firefighters are there during our worst moments. When the firefighters need some support during difficult times, there’s thankfully someone there for them: the department chaplain. For the Peoria Fire-Medical Department, that’s the Rev. Kyle Layne — a man of God who carries a radio. Layne is also lead pastor of the Zoe Community Church in Peoria. Though he’s only 46, he’s served as the fire department’s chaplain for almost 18 years, making him one of the longest-serving chaplains in the Valley. Chaplains are clerics who serve in secular organizations. Fire chaplains, along
with police and military chaplains, have a tradition of bringing spirituality to the front lines. For many, Fr. Mychal Judge, chaplain of the New York Fire Department on 9/11, embodied the values of a fire chaplain. After the twin towers were struck, Judge went to the World Trade Center to pray for the firefighters on the front lines and administer last rites. He was killed by falling debris in the North Tower. Peoria’s chaplain said that Judge’s example inspired him to pursue chaplaincy after he received his ordination as a minister. A theological teacher’s call to “get outside of church walls” also stuck with him. SEE CHAPLAIN PAGE 4
Rev. Kyle Layne is the Peoria Fire-Medical Department chaplain and lead pastor of the Zoe Community Church. (Submitted photo)
Peoria woman celebrates her 104th birthday FEATURES..... 13 Someburros expanding to the West Valley this year
OPINION...................... 8 FEATURES.................. 13 RELIGION................... 24 YOUTH....................... 26 CLASSIFIEDS.............. 28
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Peoria Times Staff Writer
The Mission at Agua Fria Senior Living in Peoria held a birthday party for Wilma McDaniel, 104, on Feb. 4. Wilma, with her son, David, at her side, was in high spirits, frequently flashing a broad smile or laughing as a score of friends and Mission staff joined her in the lobby for a cake with the rare number “104” drawn in icing on it. Wilma’s birthday festivities coincided with the Beijing Winter Olympics’ open-
ing ceremonies. Wilma was 6 when the first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Partygoers waited to cut the cake until Wilma finished an interview with a local TV station. After she was seated by the fireplace in the lobby, a piano player struck up “Happy Birthday to You” before continuing to entertain with classic melodies. Friends took turns taking pictures with Wilma, the oldest resident at The Mission, and wishing her a happy birthday. “This is a shock to her because she
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wasn’t prepared for the fact that they were going to be celebrating her birthday today,” David said. “So, she’s kind of overwhelmed.” Wilma operated a flower business for 35 years and raised four sons with her husband, Lester, in Atlantic, Iowa. “And as a couple we would work together every day,” Wilma said. “That has something to say for itself.” A longtime Sun City real estate agent, David said his mother is also an SEE BIRTHDAY PAGE 3
