John Thomas Speck, 91, died April 20, 2015 at St. Francis Home in Tiffin, Ohio. Tom was born May 24, 1923 in Tiffin to John Peter and Ruth (Stoner) Speck. On May 31, 1944, he married Garnette Louise Taylor in Tampa, Florida. Garnette passed away on December 22, 2010.

He is survived by daughters, Cassandra (Doug) Collar of Tiffin, Elizabeth (Christof) Von Steiger of Cedar Park, Texas; son, John (Lydia) Speck, Jr. of Helotes, Texas; brother, James W. (Eleanor) Speck of Findlay; six grandchildren, Alessandra White, Matthew (Cammila) Collar, Karmela (Kevin) Lyman, John Carlos Speck, Noah Nicholas Speck and Samuel Speck; six great-grandchildren, Mirren, Madeleine, Gretje, Lily, Laurel and Lilac; and many nieces and nephews.

Tom graduated from Tiffin Columbian High School in 1941 and received his B.S. in industrial design from Ohio State University in 1948. He worked for nearly 30 years at Tiffin Art Metal where he was sales manager for outdoor advertising. In 1970, Tom and his family relocated to San Antonio, Texas where he operated his own company, Da-Nite Window Guards until retirement. In 2012, he returned to Tiffin to live with his daughter and son-in-law, Cassandra and Doug Collar, in his old Sycamore Street neighborhood.

Tom was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War having served overseas in both China and Korea. He was an officer in the 148th Infantry in Tiffin when recalled to active duty in 1951. Tom was a graduate of the Infantry School at Fort Benning.

An avid outdoorsman, Tom pursued hunting and fishing. As a boy, he ran traplines on Honey Creek and was proud of trapping a mink at Lake Mohawk in 1938. Tom was an original member of the 49th OVI muzzle loaders and participated in many shooting competitions. He was also a skilled craftsman who made beautiful furniture in his wood shop, enjoyed stamp collecting and was a loyal OSU Buckeye and San Antonio Spurs fan.

Family was important to Tom and he looked forward to those days when they could all gather together to celebrate a birthday or special event, and then, follow with a spirited game of cards with lots of laughter.

He was a life member of the Elks, American Legion, and Old Trinity Episcopal Church. In 2002, Tom was named San Antonio Elks Veteran Volunteer of the Year for his work at Audie Murphy hospital. He was a member of the Johnson's Island Civil War Round Table. In 2012, Tom and his lifelong friend, Bob Gannon made an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

A Memorial Service will be Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 1:00 PM at Hoffmann-Gottfried-Mack Funeral Home & Crematory with Rev. Aaron Gerlach officiating.

Friends and family may visit on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 from 12:00-1:00 PM at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Old Trinity Episcopal Church, The Tiffin Columbian Alumni Association or Bridge Hospice.

Hoffmann-Gottfried-Mack Funeral Home & Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements.

Condolences may be sent and the guestbook at www.hgmackfuneralhome.com.