HAMPTON -- John J. Nickerson, 65, died Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, in Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

He was born Oct. 17, 1944, in Cambridge, Mass., the son of the late Russell A. and Helen (O'Brien) Nickerson.

He was a 1953 graduate of Stoneham (Mass.) High School and attended Northeastern University. He graduated from Babson College with a degree in criminal investigation.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sandra L. (Bonfanti) Nickerson of Hampton; one son, Russell A. Nickerson and his partner Carrie of Exeter; one daughter, Christine A. Freeman and her husband Bill of Newmarket; six grandchildren, Zachary, Tyler, Bethany, Corey, BreAnna and Makayla; two brothers and their wives, William R. Nickerson and his wife Susan Fenn of Bird, Alaska, and Thomas M. Nickerson and his wife Cheryl of Concord; and several nieces, nephews and cousins, including MaryAnn DeMarco.

He was predeceased by his brother, Daniel P. Nickerson, who died in 2004.

WE REMEMBER: Mr. Nickerson's longtime career in law enforcement began with the Hampton Police Department in 1967, retiring with the rank of sergeant in 1980. He then worked for the Hampton Falls Police Department before beginning a career with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department, serving as deputy sheriff and later as a bailiff. He retired from the Sheriff's Department in 2002 with 26 years of service.

He served the town of Hampton as a member and president of the television cable committee, Channel 22, and on the highway safety committee.

He moved in 1965 to Hampton, where he had summered as a youth working for Smith & Gilmore as a teenager and for many years thereafter. He loved Hampton, the beach, lobstering, fishing, gardening, and shopping with his grandchildren.

He was a communicant of Trinity Episcopal Church, a member of St. James Lodge #102 F. & A.M., Scottish Rite Bodies Valley of Portsmouth and Dover, N.H. Consistory Valley of Nashua, and Bektash Temple Shrine, Concord.

He was a member of the Marelli's Market Coffee Club and was a unique individual who loved his family and his community.

SERVICES: Visiting hours will be held Sunday, Aug. 22, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory, 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton. A Masonic service will be held at 7 p.m. Services will be held Monday, Aug. 23, at 11 a.m. in Trinity Episcopal Church, Hampton. Burial will follow in High Street Cemetery, Hampton.

Flowers are acceptable or memorial donations may be made to the Food Pantry, c/o Trinity Episcopal Church, 200 High St., Hampton, NH 03842.

Visit www.RemickGendron.com.