Community Mourns Loss of TuscBDD Superintendent Nate Kamban
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Aug. 3, 2026) – Friends, colleagues, and community members are mourning the loss of Nate Kamban, superintendent of the Tuscarawas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Kamban died last week at age 39 after a battle with cancer.
Tuscarawas County Special Olympics Coordinator Richelle Lefler said Kamban was everything they could have hoped for in a superintendent.
“Nate was just one of our biggest supporters,” Lefler said. “He fully believed in inclusion. He fully believed in every person mattering. He believed in getting to know people, and he was so genuine in his approach.”
She said the Rockets team was heartbroken by his passing.
“He just had a way of making you feel like you mattered and you had value and that this world needed you,” Lefler said. “Our Rockets will definitely feel that immense loss of someone like Nate, but we’ll also try to carry on his legacy and honor him in what we do going forward.”
Lefler said his loss will be deeply felt by the athletes he supported.
“He often told us that the honor was serving us, but really the honor was that we got to know him and learn from him and see what a true servant leader looked like in practice,” Lefler said. “We’re just so grateful that we got to experience his life lived out before us.”
Kamban was appointed TuscBDD superintendent in 2017, becoming Ohio’s youngest county board superintendent at the time.
“I met him before, but as a coordinator I would have met him right at the age of 28 or 29. Even then, what an immense leader he was and just a bright light in this world,” Lefler said. “The world is definitely a darker place, but we’re going to do our best to carry on and honor him in what we do going forward.”
The New Philadelphia Rotary Club said Kamban’s servant heart will be missed more than words can express.
Kamban is survived by his wife, Amanda, and their five children. Family and friends are invited to celebrate his life Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Geib Funeral Center in Dover.