AUGUSTA — The Maine Warden Service’s second in command died Tuesday after fighting cancer for more than a year.

Maj. Gregg Sanborn, 47, of Sidney, was a warden for 23 years, according to an announcement from the service and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“He was one of the most unselfish individuals I have ever met in my life and he was (a) genuine man who believed in traditional values and lived them every day of his life,” Col. Joel Wilkinson said in the statement.

Gov. Paul LePage and department Commissioner Chandler Woodcock, in statements, also expressed sympathy to Sanborn’s family and colleagues.

Tim Peabody, former colonel of the service, who was Sanborn’s sergeant in the Sebago Lake region in the 1990s, last year praised Sanborn’s professionalism and work ethic.

“If there was a call for service, Gregg was there,” Peabody said. “He would take care of whatever the situation was. He’s given his entire adult life to the state of Maine, and he deserves all the help he can get right now.”

Last year, wardens organized a stem cell donor drive at Unity College in the hope that a matching donor could be found to cure his cancer. He had cutaneous T-cell lymphoma — a rare form of cancer that causes tumors and infections. At the time, he said he noticed symptoms of the disease about a year earlier.

His colleagues and friends last year also put a new roof on his home while he was undergoing cancer treatments.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah, and adult son Dave.

A memorial service for Sanborn is scheduled to be held Saturday at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.