Obituaries
GREG STEVENS

TOM HAWTHORN
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

11/28/2001
The Globe and Mail

"All material Copyright (c) Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved."

VICTORIA -- Greg Stevens, who delighted generations of Prairie children as Smokey the Bear, has died in Victoria. He was 96.

As Smokey, he was joined by his wife, who portrayed Bertie Beaver. The couple crisscrossed the Prairies to educate children and their parents about forest conservation. Mr. Stevens estimated that he appeared before more than 600,000 people between 1962 and 1983.

He survived several close calls on dirt roads in terrible weather. Once, the caravan in which he lived rolled over. A railway car that had displays and a small theatre was involved in three train wrecks.

Mr. Stevens, who was born in Britain and moved to Canada as a child, served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War.

In 1962, after spending most of his working life as a salesman, he abruptly switched careers by joining the Prairie Provinces Forestry Association in 1962. He made most of his appearances in Alberta.

Smokey the Bear is best known as the mascot of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The character was used in Alberta to promote the protection of the forests.

The Bertie Beaver character was originally drawn by Walt Disney Studios. After Disney made a movie in Alberta in the 1950s, Mr. Disney permitted the forest service to use the character.

Mr. Stevens received numerous awards from teachers groups, as well as from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

He leaves his wife of 68 years, Gladys Stevens; a son, Greg Stevens, a former Alberta cabinet minister; a daughter, Dianne McFadzean Morton; six grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.