YARMOUTH – Greg Stevens, husband, father, and president and founder of Stevens, Reed, Curcio, and Potholm, died Monday, April 16, at his home in Yarmouth, following a valiant battle with brain cancer. He was 58.

He was born Nov. 1, 1948, in Abington, Pa. He spent his younger years in New Jersey before moving to Turner. He graduated from Leavitt Institute in Turner, in 1967. He attended the University of Maine in Orono, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta, and president of the class of 1971.

After graduating from the University of Maine, he moved to New Jersey, where he became a newspaper reporter for the former News Tribune of Woodbridge. A journalist by trade, he came to politics during President Gerald Ford’s 1976 re-election campaign, catching the eye of Ford’s New Jersey state director, Tom Kean. He went on to work for Kean directly, as the press secretary for his 1977 New Jersey gubernatorial bid.

He returned to Maine in 1978 to work for then Senate hopeful Bill Cohen. After Bill was elected, he moved to the Portland area to run his Maine offices. He moved to Washington, D.C., in January 1981, to become administrative assistant to then, Congresswoman, Olympia Snowe. In 1983, he returned to New Jersey to assume the position of chief of staff for then Gov. Tom Kean. Following his work in New Jersey, he joined Charlie Black and Lee Atwater at Campaign Consultants Inc. In 1988 he left to assume the position of political director for Roger Ailes’ Ailes Communications. It was in this position that he produced the infamous “Dukakis tank ad,” on behalf of George H. W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign. In 1993, he founded his own firm, Greg Stevens and Co., which today exists as Stevens, Reed, Curcio, and Potholm. In this position he produced political ads, provided media consulting, and developed political strategy for candidates ranging from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), to Sen. Mike Dewine (R-Ohio). In 1993 he produced the ads for George Allen’s upset victory in Virginia’s governor’s race.

By many accounts his most prized achievement was his role in John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, most notably providing media ads for the senator’s stunning victory in New Hampshire.

In 1999, he and his family fulfilled a longtime dream, and returned to his home state of Maine, bringing his political passion with him. In 2003 he created all the advertising for the successful “Casino No.” In 2004, he co-chaired the “Our House” campaign, raising private funds to complete the stands at the new Yarmouth turf field without any public dollars spent.

In 2005, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. As in all other parts of his life, he resigned himself to conquering the obstacles that were presented before him, and over the next 20 months waged an inspiring fight against the terminal disease. He is remembered by friend and (political) foe alike as a man committed to his ideals, friends and his family above all else. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Judi Files Stevens of Yarmouth; and his three sons, Clark (26), of Washington, D.C., Brent (21), and Luke (19), of Yarmouth; his brother, Bruce Stevens and wife, Lottie, of Bar Harbor; his sister, Marie Cooper and her husband, Mark, of New Briton, Pa.; his sister, Ruth Ambrozaitis and her husband, Peter, of Woodstock, Conn.; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Dick and Ellen Files of Cumberland; sisters-in-law Susan Tagg and husband, Jim, of Hampton Falls, N.H., and Deb Dumas and husband, Peter, of Scarborough; brother-in-law, Kip Files and wife, Lorraine DuBeau, of Rockland; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his mother, Bernice Brown Stevens.