By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Glenn Yoder was a Peabody volunteer firefighter for more than 20 years, and although he hadn’t been active recently, his death Jan. 26 at the age of 66 was a final opportunity to continue his legacy.

Memorials were directed to Peabody Fire Department.

Fire chief Mark Penner said the money will go toward buying a self-sustained breathing apparatus that sells for more than $60,000.

“It’s pricey for a small department like ours, so the money will go toward that,” he said.

Assistant fire chief Steve Rose, who has been a firefighter for 25 years, said Yoder was easygoing and had a sense of humor.

“When we got paged out, and in the excitement Glenn would come in shorts, we would joke and say he was in his underwear,” he said. “But when it came to fighting a fire, he was serious.”

When Penner became fire chief at the Peabody Fire Department eight years ago, Yoder was no longer active, but Penner knew him and his reputation for being a dependable firefighter.

Penner said he accepted Florence fire chief Mark Slater’s offer to bring a fire truck to Yoder’s funeral.

“We’re a close-knit bunch,” he said. “Everybody knew Glenn, and we work together often here in the southern part of the county.”

Rose said Slater has a soft spot in his heart for firefighters. In addition to being a firefighter himself, he has a son who serves in the Great Bend Fire Department along with two other Florence men, and he probably came to show his support.

Yoder’s legacy will live on in his family’s memorial contribution to new equipment that will help firefighters do their job.