Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Geoffrey Stevens

Male 1940 - 2023  (83 years)


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  • Name Geoffrey Stevens 
    Born 30 Jan 1940 
    Gender Male 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-329728 
    Died 18 Jun 2023  Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I329728  Generations
    Last Modified 26 Feb 2024 

  • Notes 
    • 'One of the finest journalists of his generation': Longtime reporter, columnist, editor Geoffrey Stevens dies after offering last advice to a prime minister

      CAMBRIDGE \emdash After hitting send on his final column, Geoffrey Stevens, 83, died suddenly on Sunday afternoon in Cambridge.

      By Robert Williams Record Reporter

      After hitting send on his final column, Geoffrey Stevens, 83, died suddenly on Sunday afternoon in Cambridge.

      Stevens spent decades as a dogged reporter, columnist and editor, becoming one of the country's must-read journalists, thanks to his strict attention to detail and vast network of sources.

      As former Maclean's magazine editor-in-chief Bob Lewis put it: "He never aspired for any great recognition, although he got it, in all kinds of areas. When you were in his presence, he was just Geoff Stevens, the guy I met in 1965. He was one of the finest journalists of his generation."

      He went into journalism after his graduation from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), and a subtle dig from his father, who famously asked when he told him the news, "Couldn't you get a real job?"

      He moved to Toronto and took a position at the Globe and Mail for $77 per week, but only after rejecting a similar Canadian Press offer because it paid $2 less.

      After moving to the Ottawa bureau in 1965 on a day's notice as an "accidental correspondent," Stevens soon became one of the most trusted voices on Parliament Hill, serving as the eventual successor to George Bain on the Globe's Page 6 editorial column in 1973.

      Stevens would go on to become the managing editor of both the Globe and Maclean's magazine, with stops at Time magazine and a brief stint with a newspaper he created for snowbirds in Florida. He was a strong proponent of Canadian journalism and turned down many offers for foreign correspondent work. Stevens also wrote several successful biographies, and was awarded the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize by the Writers' Trust of Canada for "The Player: The Life and Times of Dalton Camp" in 2004.

      In his later years, Stevens taught political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph, and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Laurier for his "unique and outstanding lifelong contribution to political reporting and public discourse across Canada."

      Until the day he died, he maintained a weekly column \emdash appearing in the pages of The Waterloo Region Record and Hamilton Spectator since 2003 \emdash using his subtle wit and keen sense of observation to dive deeper into the headlines of the day.

      In his personal life, Stevens was a dog's best friend, a worthy tennis player, and a loving father to Alexandra, Sean, Casey and Jamie. When his eldest son, Christopher, died tragically, the family received a heartfelt note from former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

      "My dad was meticulous when it came to his writing, and we always knew that he was very good at what he did, and he was admired and respected," said his daughter, Casey. "But he was also a loving and attentive father, and he was so much more than what people knew."

      Stevens' final work \emdash an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau \emdash was an homage to a time when he would regularly offer wisdom to Justin's father, Pierre.

      It appeared in print the day after he died.

      His advice, as he notes in the column, was "as always, gratuitous, gratis, and worth every penny of it."

      Robert Williams is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for The Record.

      Reporter, R. (2023) 'One of the finest journalists of his generation': Longtime reporter, columnist, editor Geoffrey Stevens dies after offering last advice to a prime minister, The Record. Available at: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/one-of-the-finest-journalists-of-his-generation-longtime-reporter-columnist-editor-geoffrey-stevens-dies/article_ab20d228-e0d1-5a1c-b1f7-8e959bff8c3f.html (Accessed: 23 June 2023).

      ___________

      Geoffrey Stevens

      JANUARY 30, 1940 \endash JUNE 18, 2023

      IN THE CARE OF Coutts Funeral Home & Cremation Centre

      Geoffrey Stevens, age 83, of Cambridge, Ontario passed away on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

      Geoffrey Stevens Obituary - Cambridge, ON (2023). Available at: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/cambridge-on/geoffrey-stevens-11343580 (Accessed: 23 June 2023).

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsDied - 18 Jun 2023 - Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
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