Birth date: Jun 5, 1937 Death date: Jan 2, 2023
Charles “Wayne” McDaniel, 85, of New Haven, passed away on Monday, January 2, 2023, at Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne. Born in Elwood, He was the son of the late Raymond and Mary (Goetz) McDaniel. He was a past membe Read Obituary
First off, my condolences on your loss. I saw the short obit in today's newspaper and wanted to find out if this was the same Wayne McDaniel who, along with his friend Bob Yoder, started Boy Scout Troop 356 at the New Haven United Methodist Church? Since the Harper Obit says that he was a long time member of that church, I will assume so. I am Larry Wiedman and I joined that troop on my 11 th BD, the day of its organizational meeting. I was also its 1st Eagle Scout. I just wanted to share a few memories of Wayne that have stuck around with me for the past 50+ years. Camp outs at Frichie's Woods by the now Econ-o-asis and Havenwood housing addition are among my favorite in all of scouting. Wayne would often tell us that he did not know much about Scouting (Yoder did) but he knew a lot about the out of doors. I learned much from Wayne about life, nature, and Scouting; enough to work 3 summers at the Scout Camp Little Turtle near Angola and backpack several major trails in the US. Eventually I spent several years chasing initials after my name and after 20 year since graduating from New Haven High my family and I returned to this area where I started the Environmental Science Program at the University of Saint Francis. My job included taking over 1500 students on 2-week wilderness trips to really cool locations in and out of the US. I have spent over 60 nights backpacking in the Grand Canyon alone and use many of the tips Wayne taught me when I teach the next generations to appreciate nature and the environment. You can tell I have very fond memories of the time and effort he put into our troop even much scouting experience nor a son as part of the action. We may not have been the most rule abiding troop, but we were definitely among the most active. Thank you for letting Wayne come out and play those many years ago. Many of my current friends are from those scouting days and several of Wayne and Bob's scouts have gone on to be fine men/fathers/and great success stories. I cannot help but believe Wayne and Bob were part of the reason. Sorry for being so long winded. One never knows how much of an impact our actions make on the lives of others; Wayne's made a big difference in mine. If you are interested in any further info that I could provide on this time in Wayne's life feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Dr. Larry Wiedman, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Biology; University of Saint Francis
