John Alexander Nickerson

Dr. John Alexander Nickerson, aged 86, passed away peacefully at home in Thunder Bay on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010.

John was born at the Nickerson home on 2nd St. South in Kenora on Oct. 27, 1923, the son of George Arthur Nickerson and Mary (Mabel) Isobel Myles Nickerson. He loved Kenora and, throughout his life, spent time every summer with family at the Nickerson camp on ClearwaterBay, Lake of the Woods.

At KenoraHigh School he was named Athlete of the Year for 1942, playing hockey and basketball as well as rowing at the Kenora Rowing Club. As an adult he was an avid curler and golfer, as well as a gardener and pool player. In sports, as in all his endeavours, he showed tremendous stamina, determination and good grace. He and Irene enjoyed many outings cross-country skiing with friends at the farm on Silver Falls Road.

In World War Two, he served as a Naval Officer stationed in Halifax on HMCS Border Cities. He was part of the “Triangle Run,” escorting convoys from Halifax to mid-Atlantic, to St. John’s, to Boston or New York and back to Halifax. After his war service he maintained a lifelong affiliation with the Navy through HMCS Griffon in Thunder Bay.

After the war, he attended Queen’s University and graduated as a medical doctor in 1954. He and Irene and their first two children then moved to Port Arthur, where John served as an intern at the Port Arthur GeneralHospital before opening his own practice as a General Practitioner in 1955 at the MedicalArtsBuilding on Cumberland St. He later moved his office to ParkviewMedicalBuilding and Thunder Bay Medical Centre.

John served the community as a family physician for over 52 years, retiring on February 29, 2008. In his early years, he was designated by Indian Affairs as physician to many of the First Nations communities.

He worked at the Port Arthur General (where he served as President of the Medical Staff in the early 1960s), St. Joseph’s Hospital (where he served as Chief of Staff from 1978 to 1983), the LakeheadPsychiatric Hospital, the long-term care homes and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. He had a traditional, hands-on general practice, including obstetrics, anaesthetics and nightly house calls to families with sick children or elderly.

He was devoted to the many families who were his patients, some spanning three generations. In 1995 he was awarded the Ontario Medical Association’s Glenn Sawyer Award for long and excellent service to the community as a physician. He loved his work and the many, many people he worked with over the years.

He was married to Irene Mabel Forstrom at the Forstrom home in Kenora on December 30, 1949, and they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with their family in 2009. Irene’s steadfast love and support for John throughout his life made everything possible for him. John and Irene raised their family of six children at their home on North Algoma St. and at their camp at SilverBeach on Lake Superior. In 1989, they moved to MaplecrestTower.

John was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Hugh and George, and his sister Mary (Laverne) Stuart. His surviving sisters are Hazel (William) Strathdee of Kenora, the matriarch of our family, and Joan (Sidney) Forstrom of Vancouver. He is also survived by sisters-in-law Pauline Nickerson and Ellen Nickerson, and many dear nephews and nieces and their families.

John leaves his loving wife Irene and their six children: Mary Lou Kelley; Deborah de Bakker (Paul); George Nickerson (Dawn); Catherine Nickerson (Brian King); Joan Duke (John); and Susan Elrick (Steven). His grandchildren are Allison Kelley (Dan Zapior); Beverley Speer (Sean); Mary de Bakker (Sandi Lukic); Peter de Bakker (Jennifer Dagsvik); Johnny de Bakker; Martin de Bakker; Alexander Adam; Jeri Vezina (Josh); Jordis Duke; Joanna Duke; Craig Elrick (Sarah); and Mary Elrick. Great grandchildren are Luka and Sasha Lukic de Bakker; and Connor and Paisley Elrick.

We will remember him for his compassion, generosity, and great sense of humour. As he told us, we will “keep plugging away “and “roll with the punches.”

A memorial service will be held at St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church on Monday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m., with Rev. Peter Smyth presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in John’s memory to the “St. Michael and All Angels Elevator Fund,” 675 Red River Rd, Thunder BayONP7B 1J1.

Arrangements entrusted to the Sargent & Son Funeral Home, 21 N. Court Street.

Online condolences may be made at http://www.sargentandson.com