With a friendship spanning more than 14 years, Leigh Anne and Peggy Horne celebrate finally becoming Lifesharing Partners.

By Sydney Kerelo

More than 14 years ago, Peggy Horne and Leigh Anne met on a KenCrest transportation bus and became fast friends. Since that encounter, Peggy Horne and Leigh Anne have developed a close relationship and officially became Lifesharing partners last July.

As an avid churchgoer and newly appointed Deaconess at the First Church of the Brethren, Horne has always been a caregiver. Even at the ripe age of 11, she would gather all the neighborhood kids and take them on trips to the movie theater as a special treat.

So, when her friend Alice became a KenCrest Lifesharing provider, and Horne saw firsthand how the program operated, she knew that was what she needed to do.

“I saw the work that she did with the person she supported, and I felt like there was more I needed to do. So, Alice took me to the office, I met them, interviewed, and started as a driver,” says Horne. “When I first took over the driving job, the Director at the time gave me one of the longest and easiest routes but warned me about one of the riders who tended to scream while on the bus.”

On her first drive, Horne picked up all the riders, and like clockwork, one woman began screaming. She recalls immediately pulling the bus over and talking to the passengers about bus safety and how screaming could cause an accident.

“From that time on, she never screamed on my bus again,” laughs Horne. “That woman was Leigh Anne, and I believe that God brings people into your life to make a difference, and she was brought into mine for a purpose.”

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Since meeting, Leigh Anne and Horne have developed a close-knit relationship. Horne would pick her up in the mornings and drop her off in the evenings, and the duo would chat throughout the drive about their days. They did this for two years when Leigh Anne’s circumstances changed, and Horne was asked to provide emergency respite care for her.

Leigh Anne lived with Horne for 13 months while Horne and her parents searched for her Gilbertsville home. Her parents purchased the house, and she moved from Horne’s home into her own. She’s been there for more than 14 years now and loves it.

Leigh Anne is one of the few people supported by KenCrest that owns their own home, and she is incredibly grateful to have it. With a screened-in porch, a two-car garage, and abundant space to display her treasures, Leigh Anne loves her home and proudly shows off her collection of books to all her guests.

At first, Leigh Anne’s mother, who resides in Florida, wanted Horne to move in, but at the time, she wasn’t ready to make that next step. She provided sub-care for many years until July 2022, when she officially became her Lifesharing provider and moved in full-time. Since living together again, Horne compares their relationship to that of the Golden Girls—a sitcom from 1985 to 1992 about four mature women living together in their golden years and experiencing the ups and downs of life together.

While Horne lives full-time at Leigh Anne’s home, she still owns her own home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which she currently rents to her granddaughter. “I have most of my clothes here, but I wouldn’t have enough room in this house to move everything because Leigh Anne has clothes galore; she is a fashionista,” laughs Horne. “It’s her home, and it’s been her for 14 years; I’m just living here with her.”

One of the Golden Girl duo’s favorite things to do together is to attend church. Horne was recently appointed as a Deaconess, and every Sunday, Leigh Anne works as a greeter, welcoming each person who joins the service. They even join different ladies’ activity groups throughout the week.

 “I am blessed to be involved with her, and I believe that she was brought into my life to make a difference,” says Horne.

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