Donald Van Meter passed away on March 3, 2019 at the age of 74. He is preceded in death by his parents, Doris and Philip Van Meter and his sister in law, Janet Van Meter. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Sally; son, Joshua and his wife, Lauren, and their children, Grace and William.
He is survived by his brother, Jay Van Meter, his daughters, Kerry Fenton and Jennifer Rucka, and her husband, Greg. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, Daniel Freeman and his wife Laurie; his sister-in-law, Marilyn and her husband, Nat DiBuduo; and his brother-in-law, Philip Freeman. He is also survived by nieces and nephews, Heather and her husband Brian Evans, Beth and her husband Ryan Hardester, Nicole and her husband Colby Linder, Marcus DiBuduo and his wife Amy, Analise and her husband Derek Elrod, Dustin Freeman and his wife Nina, and Douglas Freeman.
He is also survived by many great-nieces and nephews. Don was born in 1944 in Fresno, California. Always studious, he excelled in school.
He also excelled in many extra circular activities. He played little league baseball and stopped one step short of becoming an Eagle Scout. As a young child he also developed a passion for music and studied piano for 14 years.
He also played many different instruments in his high school marching band. In his college years, he led the church choir at Easton Presbyterian Church. In his senior year in high school he came in third in a national debate conference and decided to become a lawyer.
However, during his senior year at Fresno State College (University of California at Fresno) he was asked to finish teaching a political science class for a professor who became ill. Don loved teaching so much that he decided to become a college professor instead. Don received his PHD from The University of Wisconsin and joined the Ohio State University Political Science Department in 1970.
He received tenure and won the Outstanding Teacher Award for the College of Arts & Sciences in mid-1970’s. He was an active and prolific scholar. In 1982, Don decided he wanted to work in government and took a job with then-Attorney General Bill Brown, working with his policy development team.
He later was asked to head up the communications department. Don was invited back to OSU to teach an honors class on the American Presidency. Of the four living former presidents, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford accepted the invitation to speak to his class.
Don decided that he wanted to provide communication services as a business. He had his own company for more than 30 years, providing communication & strategic planning to a wide variety of corporate, government, and charitable organizations. One of his joys was working with the late Pat Logsdon in electing outstanding candidates for public office.
Don always believed in the importance of public service. He worked with many governors and many business entities. He also worked with the senior staff at OSU during the transition process for several incoming OSU presidents.
Don loved life, family, people, a cause to work for, conversation and good food. Don will be greatly missed by his family and friends and the dogs, Alix & Sonoma. He was a wonderful teacher and advisor to his students and colleagues.
Charitable contributions may be made to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and Franklin County Children’s Services. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Donald Van Meter please visit our Sympathy Store.
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