Benjamin Scaggs
November 30, 1964 - November 26, 2022
Jackson, Mississippi - Benjamin "Ben" Boureau Scaggs, age 57, died at home in Jackson, Mississippi on November 26, 2022, surrounded by family as he lost his battle with a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder – multiple system atrophy cerebellar (MSA-C). Ben was married to his high school sweetheart and was the father of three amazing children.
Ben was a graduate of Meridian High School, Meridian Community College, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also earned a master's degree in Public Policy. His family and friends remember him as a memory maker who took pictures with his eyes. He was known to turn an ordinary day into an adventure and fun family vacations into lasting memories… UNC basketball, Durham Bulls and Biloxi Shuckers baseball, swimming with whale sharks, sailing on the Biloxi Schooner, waking up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, snorkeling among sea creatures, theater in Chicago, eating ice cream in D.C. in July, duck and turkey hunting… to name a few.
He had an exceptionally distinguished career in federal service, much of it with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ben entered the Senior Executive Service as the Director of the Office of Administration and Resources Management at the Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina. Ben then returned to his home state of Mississippi and assumed leadership of the Gulf of Mexico Program headquartered in Gulfport. He was honored to then serve in Washington, DC as EPA's Assistant Deputy Administrator, helping to oversee management of the entire agency.
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Ben quickly became one of the most trusted and respected people leading the recovery, working with and building trust across all levels of government. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he volunteered to establish and lead the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council – a new federal agency charted by the RESTORE Act. He led that agency with a steady hand, overseeing the allocation of billions of dollars in restoration funding.
Those who worked with Ben appreciated his intelligence, his warmth, his exceptional analytical ability, his decisiveness, his passion, his dedication to his work, his skill as a writer, and his wicked sense of humor. He embraced the training of the next generation of leaders. He built bridges and relationships with ease. Colleagues remarked on Ben's frequent use of colorful Southern analogies to spice up discussions. His response to an unwise proposal was "that dog won't hunt;" you had to "bird-dog" actions; and while for some problems "the juice was not worth the squeeze," others needed a push because "the missiles in the silos will not launch themselves." Still, his overall goal was "peace in the valley."
Ben is survived by his wife, Janice Taleff Scaggs, children Susan Scaggs Stutts (Drew) of Biloxi, MS, Hunter Monroe Scaggs (Olivia Moore) of Durham, NC, and Emma Boureau Scaggs (L.J. Enloe) of Durham, NC. He is also survived by his mother, Sara Boureau Scaggs, his mother-in-law Mary Lynne Taleff, as well as siblings Wade Franklin "Frank" Scaggs (Wendy), Susan Lee Scaggs (Kimberley), William Nickles "Skip" Scaggs (Brenda), and 9 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, William Franklin "Bill" Scaggs.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Meridian Community College Foundation's Scaggs' Family Endowment, 910 Hwy 19 North, Meridian, MS 39307. https://meridiancc.edu/about_mcc/foundation/give/giving.html

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Published by The Herald Sun on Nov. 30, 2022.