INUVIK - Communities in the Nunakput region are mourning the sudden loss of former MLA Vince Steen, who died Feb. 3 at the Inuvik Regional Hospital.

Steen's wife of 37 years, Betty Elias, said he had been fighting bone cancer for two years, and had been hospitalized Jan. 19.

Vince Steen represented the Nunakput region as MLA from 1995 to 2003. Friends and family say he dedicated his life to public service, and enjoyed spending time on the land. - photo courtesy of Betty Elias

It was a painful battle in the final days, she said, and she has found some comfort in the community and her religious faith.

"He's pain-free now. I know he's in a better place than his hospital bed," she told News/North.

Elias added that residents of Tuktoyaktuk have been visiting to offer food and prayers.

She said this has been appreciated by herself and her five children, Tina, Shannon, Warren, Waylon and Meeka.

Friends and family say he was a respected politician, a traditional whale hunter, an intrepid traveller and boat captain, who served on a myriad of boards and agencies including the Inuit Taparitsat of Canada, NWT Game Council, Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation and Federal Fisheries and Oceans Advisory Committee on Whales and Whaling.

While he was born in Aklavik in 1941, he briefly became mayor of Tuktoyaktuk in 1980, and served as the town's Justice of the Peace, SAO and Coroner at different times in his life.

He was also briefly a SAO in Paulatuk, which he also considered to be home.

"He always had good vision, he never called for a quick fix," said current Tuktoyaktuk mayor Jackie Jacobson, who is Steen's nephew.

Even at the age of 65, Jacobson said, Steen was a member of Tuktoyaktuk's hamlet council and finance committee.

To mark the loss, Jacobson said the entire hamlet might have a few days without business.

"This is a great loss to the community, and I miss my uncle," he said.

"He was a true public servant."

Arrangements for a memorial service were not yet complete as of press time.