TURNERS FALLS — In the days before former Montague Tree Warden Mark Stevens died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 17, he had one last job to complete.

On Oct. 3, Stevens, in his pajamas and Crocs, placed “no parking” signs on the side of Avenue A where tree cutting would be done with the help of Carol, his wife of 14 years, and their close friends.

“Mark never wanted to stop being the tree warden. It was just so weird how he didn’t want to stop being the tree warden. He was always on it till the end,” Carol said of her late husband.

For 37 years, Mark, who was 63, made his mark on the community with his dedicated service at the Montague Department of Public Works (DPW) since 1989, after graduating from the Franklin County Tech School in 1979. He started as a groundskeeper, and then lead groundskeeper from 2017 to 2021.

Mark served as tree warden from 2001 to 2024. His dedication ran so deep that it was only when he became so ill that he could not speak that he resigned from his position on Oct. 7 — just 10 days before he would die after a five-year battle with cancer.

In 2021, Stevens made the decision to step away from his role at the DPW after his ongoing battle with cancer made it increasingly difficult for him to continue as both lead groundskeeper and tree warden. Carol recalls that in one instance, he became so ill that he nearly died in 2020, but still wanted to work for the town for as long as possible. Stevens still served the community despite the circumstances.

Carol described her husband as committed. Having married in 2001 when Mark started working as tree warden, Carol recalls that he used to carry a beeper on him and would listen to the police scanner so he would be ready to go out and assist in any way he could.

“He had a beeper … then it turned to his cell phone, and he would get calls all hours of the night for trees down, and he would get a crew. It was 24/7 they were available,” Carol explained. “When there was a tree down in Montague, Mark would already be getting dressed because he knew he’d be getting a call. Then he would call the crew and say, ‘Get ready. We’re gonna get a call.’ He was always on it.”

In one instance, Carol recalls how her husband and his son Reggie worked to clear a tree that fell across the entire road outside of the Montague Police Department after a bad storm in 2018. At 10:30 p.m., they went out and cleared the tree with saws and a bulldozer.

This ability to be on top of things resonated with those he worked with, and worked for. For many years, Mark worked with former DPW Superintendent Tom Bergeron, who became a close friend. He wrote a letter to Carol expressing his appreciation for the work Mark did for the community after he died.

“Mark played a dual role with DPW as a groundskeeper and as a Montague Tree Warden. As far as tree warden, Mark did an excellent job in providing service for the town, not only taking care of trimming trees, but also planting hundreds of trees, more like 1000s through a grant that was received by the Town of Montague,” Bergeron wrote to Carol.

Town Administrator Walter Ramsey remembers the dedication Stevens had to the trees and the community. He wrote in an email that he remembers Stevens making the town “a special place to work.”

“Mark leaves behind a legacy of hundreds of beautiful streetscapes and public shade trees which were under his care for decades — most recently working with the Franklin Land Trust on an ambitious effort to plant 800 new public shade trees in town,” Ramsey stated.

Both Ramsey and Bergeron refer to a 2018 initiative taken by the Franklin Land Trust with the Landscape Scale Restoration Grant (LCR) from the U.S. Forest Service to plant trees in Greenfield, North Adams and Montague to provide shade in public areas. With the help of Stevens and others, over 900 trees were planted as part of this mission across the three towns.

“When I stop to appreciate Montague’s beautiful streetscapes and parks, especially during a fall like the one we just had, I for one will think of Mark,” Ramsey stated.

Before her husband’s death, Stevens said Mark would frequently receive praise for his work from local residents who called on him for help, and from officials like state Sen. Jo Comerford, who congratulated Stevens in a letter for his reelection to tree warden. One woman wrote to Stevens in 2013 thanking him for his help, which read “Mark, thanks for the help you can provide, and thanks for keeping the roads cleared.”

In his spare time, Stevens said he had several “outdoorsy” interests, and he loved his family — his three sons, Carol’s two daughters and their five grandchildren. The couple would vacation at their Vermont home, and Carol fondly recalled their trips to the beach in Florida.

Displayed in her home, Stevens has photos of her husband and their family, along with cards, flowers and other mementos for her late husband, one of which is a basket made of wood in which she placed a photo of Mark with flowers.

With the funeral over and her friends leaving to go back to their homes after having helped her husband through the last few weeks of her life, Stevens will be taking time to herself by going to the beach.

Stevens is also hoping that the town of Montague will be able to remember her husband for his lifelong service. She said she hopes the DPW will take over the position of tree warden so Stevens could be the last person to hold that position, though nothing has been made official yet. Stevens also hopes that the new Montague Center playground being constructed will be named after him to honor his legacy to the town, and the trees.

“He was the hero,” Stevens said. “He was my hero.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.