Living Treasures names Daly, Ruminer and Wheeler for 2026 honors

The Living Treasures of Los Alamos board has chosen Linda Daly, John Ruminer and Kyle Wheeler for its 2026 honors after reviewing more than 100 nomination letters from community members. The selections point to three kinds of local work that shape daily life in Los Alamos: youth and family services, preservation of the town’s atomic history, and the county systems that keep planning and recycling moving.

Living Treasures says it selects three new honorees each year and describes them as community folk heroes. With the 2026 class, the program said its total has reached 108 honorees since 1999, underscoring how the award has become part of Los Alamos’ civic memory rather than a simple annual tribute. A ceremony is scheduled for September 27 at Fuller Lodge, a setting that fits a tradition built around public recognition and long service.

Daly was recognized for years of leadership at The Family YMCA, where she served as chief executive director from 1999 until her retirement in October 2018. The YMCA was founded in Los Alamos by volunteers in 1955 to meet the town’s need for youth and family recreation and social programs, and Daly later carried that work into service on the Los Alamos Community Foundation board and as a board member and two-term president of the UNM-LA Advisory Board. A June Kiwanis report also said she chaired the Boys and Girls Committee, showing that her volunteer role remained active.

Ruminer’s selection reflects the value Los Alamos places on keeping its history visible and accessible. He is a retired engineer, local historian and Los Alamos Historical Society board member who oversees both the Hans Bethe House and the Robert Oppenheimer House as historical-properties chairman. The Historical Society asked Los Alamos National Laboratory archivists for photos in 2021 to help restore the Oppenheimer House as it appeared in the 1940s, and LANL says Bathtub Row homes were reserved for wartime laboratory leadership. In a town where visitors still walk the Bradbury Science Museum, Main Gate Park and Bathtub Row to understand the Manhattan Project era, that kind of stewardship shapes what residents and tourists see on the ground.

Wheeler brings the practical side of local government to the 2026 class. He is a former Los Alamos County Councilor and former member of the Charter Review Committee, and he also served on the Living Treasures board itself. His record includes work to establish the county’s recycling program, a legacy that remains relevant as Los Alamos County continues to confront a 17% waste contamination rate in its recycling stream. In a county where planning decisions and environmental programs still affect everything from neighborhoods to road use, Wheeler’s recognition connects past policy choices to present-day operations.