Stephen T. Hughes

AUBURN / NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. – Stephen T. Hughes passed away on Aug. 17, 2026. He was 83.

Steve lived a life marked by service to others — as an elected official, a trustee of the University of Maine, and an active member of several Episcopal parishes, most notably St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, N.Y. where he lived for the last 40 years of his life.

Born on July 26, 1943 to Albert W. “Beau” Hughes and Edith Bivens Hughes, Steve grew up in Auburn and graduated from Edward Little High School. He went on to attend Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, a state where members of his extended family lived. After being drafted, Steve served for two years in the United States Army before enrolling at the University of Maine.

At UMaine, Steve made many lifelong friends and served as president of the student body during a tumultuous era when the Vietnam War and the national debate surrounding it profoundly affected campus life. While still an undergraduate, he gained statewide recognition when Gov. Kenneth M. Curtis appointed him as the first student to serve as a trustee of the University of Maine.

Steve graduated from UMaine in 1970 and, while continuing his service as a trustee, attended the University of Maine School of Law. In 1974, voters in Auburn elected him to the Maine House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1976.

During his legislative career, Steve became closely identified with two landmark environmental measures. He sponsored legislation establishing Maine’s beverage-container deposit law, commonly known as the “Bottle Bill,” and championed the successful effort to eliminate most roadside billboards. Both measures helped shape Maine’s approach to environmental protection and preservation of its landscape and remain the law today. Steve was also a strong advocate for civil rights, reproductive freedom, and the rule of law.

After serving four years in the Legislature, Steve left Maine for New York City, N.Y. where he pursued a life of ministry. He enrolled at Union Theological Seminary and spent 15 years leading programs at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. He later became deeply involved with St. Bartholomew’s Church, known as St. Bart’s, where he served in a variety of leadership roles for 25 years. His activities there were curtailed in later years by health issues related to COVID-19.

Throughout his life, Steve maintained a deep love of music, culture, and the arts. Blessed with an extraordinary tenor voice, he sang with numerous choirs in both Maine and New York. He also loved to travel and, over the years, explored much of the United States and Europe with his many friends.

Steve will be remembered for his lively conversation, intellectual curiosity, commitment to public and community service, love of music and the arts, and devotion to a wide circle of friends and an extended network of cousins scattered across the country.

Steve was predeceased by his parents, Albert W. “Beau” Hughes and Edith Bivens Hughes; and his brother, Nick Hughes.

A gathering of Steve’s Maine family and friends will be held 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11, at Maple Hill Farm in Hallowell. A service celebrating Steve’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 6 at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, N.Y. Interment will be in the Hughes family plot in Eno Presbyterian Church in Cedar Grove, N.C.

In lieu of flowers please donate to be made to the University of Maine Alumni Association. https://www.umainealumni.com/

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