Saturday, April 20, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
POTSDAM – Funeral arrangements have been finalized for Paul Stevenson, a former Village of Potsdam development director and more recently a U.S. State Department diplomat, who died at his suburban …
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POTSDAM – Funeral arrangements have been finalized for Paul Stevenson, a former Village of Potsdam development director and more recently a U.S. State Department diplomat, who died at his suburban Washington, D.C. home last week at age 52.
Calling hours will be held at the Garner Funeral Service in Potsdam from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 22.
His funeral service will be held on Tuesday, April 23 at 11 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Potsdam with Rev. Dr. Christopher Brown celebrant.
Arrangements are with the Garner Funeral Home in Potsdam.
Born in Watertown in 1961, Stevenson characteristically served the public in Potsdam, his adopted home town.
He earned a bachelor’s degree at St. Lawrence University in 1983 and dual master’s degrees from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in public administration and from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in environmental science in 1988.
His career was entirely devoted to public service, in the City of Syracuse Department of Community Development, the St. Lawrence County Planning Office, as director of the City of Ithaca’s Urban Renewal Agency, Director of Planning and Development for the Village of Potsdam, and, most recently as a diplomat and analyst with the U.S. State Department.
His evident ability benefited Potsdam with his clear vision and the policies and grants he developed for the village, including reconstruction of a Market Street block in the historic preservation district, and initiating a community forestry program after the destruction of trees during the ice storm of 1998.
Stevenson served with distinction in embassy postings in Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria, and more recently in his posting back in Washington, DC where he served in the Bureau of African Affairs.
Friends at the State Department report that they urged him to go home one day last week because he didn’t seem well; he was found dead the following day.
He is survived by his parents, George and Teresa Stevenson of Watertown.
Online condolences can be sent at www.garnerfh.com.
Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the American Heart Association or the charity of one’s choice.
