McKinley leaves indelible legacy

A longtime friend and fellow Green Valley Fire Board member once called Walter Daniel McKinley, 99, who died Friday at Silver Springs assisted living center, “Little Caesar” because he ruled with an iron fist, usually encased in a velvet glove, and, only rarely failed to get exactly what he wanted for Green Valley.

The reference as also an allusion to McKinley’s pugnaciousness, a la Edward G. Robinson in the famous gangster movie, and his physical stature. McKinley was, as he often joked, short. “So what?” he asked, followed by a big smile.

There was nothing short or inconsequential about McKinley’s dedication to Green Valley, which he served in multiple volunteer roles for many years after his arrival here in 1977, including 13 as board member and chairman of the Green Valley Fire District, where he was the driving force in developing what he called the “finest ambulance and paramedic service in the state.”

Friends called him a “human dynamo” because his energy and vision proved boundless.

McKinley served as president of the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council in 1982-83, and worked as a member of the Green Valley Recreation board of directors, where he instituted a three-and five-year budget planning process.

He was one of the organizers of the Green Valley Community Fund with former resident Louis Black.

With the late Perc Williams and with the invaluable aid of social worker Edythe Taylor, McKinley started Green Valley Assistance Services, which today is responsible for helping many residents in need.

One of his proudest achievements was being appointed by Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik to act as coordinator of the then-warring factions of the sheriff’s volunteers in the Green Valley area. Despite controversy and a long-running turf war, McKinley wasted no time in organizing the disparate groups and was the prime mover in creating the combined and unified organization now known as the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers.

McKinley also worked tirelessly for more than two decades on efforts to bring a 24-hour urgent care center and hospital to the Green Valley area, a dream that will someday be realized when Carondelet Health Services builds its planned hospital in Sahuarita.

McKinley was a take-charge guy, for certain, and at no time were those leadership and organizational skills needed more than during the great flood of October 1983, when Interstate 19 was closed down and residents of Green Valley and the surrounding area were on their own.

McKinley personally directed efforts to shelter several hundred residents at East Center during the worst days of the flood, when many residents had to evacuate their homes. He organized the rescue effort, and working with the Sheriff’s Department and SAV, called in the National Guard, obtained food to feed stranded residents and made sure they were safe.

Like many present-day residents, McKinley brought a lot of experience with him to his retirement days. After earning a degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University in 1933, he worked as a chemist for Dupont, where he was instrumental in the development of Teflon. In 1941, his expertise was sought out by the United States government which assigned him to work as a chemist on the highly secret Manhattan Project, that led to the development of the atomic bomb. After leaving Dupont in 1953, he started his own plastics tubing company in Verona, N.J.

He served on the borough council in that community for 20 years and headed the police and fire departments for 16 years. For four years, he ran the water and waste disposal department.

Those 20 years of service were followed by eight more, this time as Verona’s mayor, when he was directly responsible for many changes, including improvement of streets, water and sewer systems. He was particularly proud of his role in the development of a major retirement complex for Verona residents.

One of the proudest moments of his life, however, came in 1997, when Fire Station 152, located at corner of Camino del Sol and Camino Encanto, was named in his honor. McKinley had long fought for the second station to serve Green Valley’s expanding population. Detractors called his drive “McKinley’s Folly,” but “Little Caesar” persisted for many years.

At the ceremony, a proclamation issued by fellow fire board members was read in his honor, praising his “legendary vision” and dedication to improving medical emergency and firefighting services.

McKinley realized early on that medical emergency calls constituted 80 to 85 percent of the fire district’s service and worked diligently to upgrade paramedic training and medical equipment.

At he ceremony, McKinley was speechless.

“For once,” quipped friend and fellow Fire Board member, Joe Allerdice.

With his dominant personality and his proclivity for secrecy, McKinley made some enemies, but, in the long run, most of them came to respect him because they knew his motives always were aimed at serving the community.

Memorial services for McKinley will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Silver Springs.

Kathy Engle is a freelance writer who lives in Amado.