John Nickerson Obituary

Bayfield resident John Henry Nickerson died of cancer Sunday, May 29, 2011, at his home. He was 87.

Known as "Nick," he was born to Lester Emery and Anna Madeline (Cooley) Nickerson on April 12, 1924, in Boston.

Mr. Nickerson served as a pilot in the Marine Corps during World War II. He was a member of one of the most distinguished air groups in the history of the Pacific War, Marine Aircraft Group-22. He served from 1942 to 1946, fought in the Battle of Okinawa and was in the Marine reserves through 1958. He retired from the Marine Corps with the rank of captain.

After the war, Mr. Nickerson became a New Hampshire state trooper from about 1948 through 1953.

He later went into the mining and tunneling business, a career that took him all over the world. He moved his family from Australia to California in the early 1960s and supervised the tunnel-boring portion of the Bay Area Rapid Transit subway system in San Francisco.

In 1972, the Nickersons moved to Ignacio, where Mr. Nickerson supervised the Navajo Irrigation Project. He made Colorado his home and traveled for his work to such places as Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Nickerson was an avid hunter and outdoorsman.

"He loved to tell stories about his life and had a wicked sense of humor," his family said.

He met his wife during a flight from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Helsinki while she was working as a stewardess on Pan American World Airways.

"He swept her off her feet, and when he proposed to her, told her 'she would never be bored,' a promise that he kept."

He married his stewardess, Mira Sillfors, on Dec. 30, 1955, in Helsinki.

Mr. Nickerson is survived by his wife of almost 56 years, Mira "Chicky" Nickerson, of Bayfield; daughters, Joy Lyyli Nickerson of Bayfield, Janette Linda Nickerson of Durango and Suzanne Elizabeth Solomonow of Aurora; sons, Jack Lester Nickerson of Dolores, John Henry Nickerson Jr. of Encinitas, Calif., and Kevin Paul Nickerson of Dracut, Mass.; brother, Walter Nickerson of Pelham, N.H.; sisters, Carole Howe of Bethlehem, N.H., and Pat Barnes of Nashua, N.H.; 15 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Cremation will occur. A memorial military service will be scheduled at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be sent to support our troops at United Service Organizations, P.O. Box 96322, Washington, DC 20090-6322; or the American Cancer Society, 1800 East Third Ave., Suite 101, Durango, CO 81301.