death_date image_width birth_place title birth_date term_start residence image article_title term_end name
14 september 1995 200px lowell , massachusetts secretary secretary of the department of environmental resources -lrb- pennsylvania -rrb- of the pennsylvania department of forests and waters 13 september 1912 1955 1970 camp hill , pennsylvania maurice k goddard.jpg maurice k. goddard
 1970 1979 maurice k. goddard
maurice k. goddard

maurice k. goddard -lrb- 1912 -- 1995 -rrb- was the driving force behind the creation of 45 pennsylvania state parks during his 24 years as a cabinet officer for six governors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania in the united states .
maurice k. goddard was born on september 13 , 1912 in lowell , massachusetts .
his family moved around during his childhood so that he lived in kansas and toronto before finally settling in portland , maine .
goddard received a b.s. in forestry from the university of maine in 1935 .
he held a teaching position in forestry at the mont alto school of forestry in franklin county , pennsylvania from 1935-1937 .
he left in 1938 to receive his masters in forestry from the university of california at berkeley .
he served under the direct command of general dwight d. eisenhower in the united states army during world war ii , reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel .
he was awarded the legion of merit and the bronze star .
following his discharge from the army , goddard returned to his career in forestry .
he accepted a position as the director of forestry at the mont alto school of forestry .
from there he served the same position at the pennsylvania state university in university park , pennsylvania .
at this time goddard began to formulate plans for the future of the state parks in pennsylvania .
george m. leader was elected governor of pennsylvania in 1954 and sought goddard 's advice about who should lead the pennsylvania department of forests and waters .
after receiving goddard 's advice , governor leader instead appointed goddard as the secretary of the pennsylvania department of forests and waters , a forerunner to the pennsylvania department of conservation and natural resources .
as secretary , goddard set out to improve the forest department by eliminating political appointees and increasing the number of college-educated employees .
with his new group of employees , goddard and the department of forests and waters set a goal of establishing a state park within 25 miles -lrb- 40 km -rrb- of every resident of pennsylvania .
he fell short of this goal , but under his leadership the number of state parks in pennsylvania grew by 45 , and there was an increase in size of over 130,000 acres -lrb- 526 km ² -rrb- .
goddard went on to oversee the creation of the pennsylvania department of environmental resources , a combination of several other state departments .
goddard retired in 1979 and remained active in the environmental movement , serving on the boards of the chesapeake bay foundation , national wildlife federation , pennsylvania environmental council , and pennsylvania forestry association .
he died on september 14 , 1995 at age 83 , from injuries received in a fire at his home in camp hill , pennsylvania .
though not well known , many friends and people who knew him well acknowledge it was likely suicide , as the fire was fueled by a `` petroleum reactant '' goddard was survived by his wife , ethel , who was also injured in the fire .
they had two sons : kim and mark .
