Dr. Samuel Wallace Speck, Jr., age 86, passed away following an acute illness and after a brief stay in hospice care at Kobacker House in Columbus, Ohio. He was a resident at Wesley Glen Retirement Community in Columbus. He was married to his wife Sharon for 55 years until her death in 2017. Sam was born to the late Samuel and Lois Speck in Canton, Ohio. After graduating from Louisville High School he went on to graduate summa cum laude in Political Science from Muskingum College (now Muskingum University). He earned a Masters and Ph.D. in Government at Harvard University and attended the University of Zimbabwe as a Rotary Foundation Fellow. Sam went on to touch innumerable lives with lifelong public and academic service. Starting in 1964 Sam became a member of the faculty at Muskingum College. He served as an Ohio State representative and senator for twelve years. During that time he was the primary author for the Ohio Strip Mine Reclamation act of 1971, which was used as a model for the Federal Strip Mine Act. The Strip Mine Reclamation Act allowed, in part, for the eventual revitalization of land for The Wilds, an exotic and endangered species wildlife preserve. Appointed by President Reagan in 1983, Sam served as Associate Director for State and Local Programs in the Federal Emergency Management Agency for three years. Sam returned to Muskingum College in 1986 to serve in leadership positions and became President in 1988, a role he held for twelve years. In 1999 Governor Taft appointed Sam as the Director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and he served in this capacity for nearly eight years. During this time, as chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors’ Water Management Working Group, he led development of the Great Lakes Annex Agreement and Compact to provide for the management of withdrawals of water from the Great Lakes basin. In 2004 he was one of three state officials in the U.S. to receive the National Governors Association’s annual award for Distinguished Service in State Government. From 2008 to 2011 Sam served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as a U.S. Commissioner on the International Joint Commission focusing on boundary water issues between the U.S. and Canada. Sam was a member or held leadership roles in numerous organizations including the International Center for the Preservation of Wildlife (the Wilds), Eastern Ohio Development Alliance, the Great Lakes Commission, Council of Great Lakes Governors Water Management Working Group, the Ohio Water Resources Council, the Nature Conservancy Board of Directors for Ohio, and the Ohio to Erie Trail Board of Directors. Sam is survived by his sons: Sam (Ellen) Speck and Derek Speck, and his grandchildren: Sam (Taylor) Speck, Sarah (Sajal Tiwary) Speck, and Steven Speck.