M. Allan Nickerson

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of long time volunteer M. Allan Nickerson on August 26 after a 10-year struggle with Parkinson’s and Lewy body disease.  He was 89.

Allan lived in South Weymouth most of his life and moved into a home his son built in Pocasset when he retired in 1989 and enjoyed 20 years of Cape Cod life. He moved to Holden in 2010 to live near his daughter.

Allan graduated from Weymouth High School in 1943 and Boston University in 1949 with a degree in journalism. He also studied accounting at Bentley College and graduated second in his class in 1964. He worked at Stone and Webster in Boston for 10 years, Chas T. Main in Boston as a corporate budget manager for 25 years, and for Development Concepts in Weymouth for five years. He served in the Army Air Corps from 1944 to 1946 and trained as a navigation engineer.

Allan was a member of the First Baptist Church of Weymouth until 1989 and served as a deacon, trustee, adult Sunday school teacher, chairperson of two building committees, and volunteered his time and gifts in many other areas. After moving to the Cape, he joined the Osterville Baptist Church in Osterville and continued to serve in similar roles.

At WHOI, Allan was a summer tour guide and also coordinated the projectionists for the weekly Peanut Butter Club for many years. He enjoyed golfing with family and friends and sailing his small boat along the south coast. He was a walking encyclopedia and his grandchildren used him for homework help whenever they were stumped. He was a voracious reader and also had a wonderful sense of humor.

He leaves his wife of 64 years, Barbara J. (Baird); a daughter, Debbie Yerdon, her husband, Steve, of Holden, and their children, Jennifer Bolton and her husband, Mark of Quincy; Lauren Dumais and her husband, Casey of Nashua, N.H; a son, Mark Nickerson and his wife, Barbara, of Plymouth and their children, Benjamin and Jacob; his sisters, Sylvia Ribbe and her husband, John, of Hudson, FL; Marilyn Briscoe of Duxbury; a sister-in-law, Diana Ferrazza of San Diego, CA; and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, September 13, at the Community Baptist Church, 17 Mutton Lane, Weymouth. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Osterville Baptist Church, 824 Main St., Osterville, Mass., 02665; Devereux, P.O. Box 219, 60 Miles Road, Rutland, Mass., 01543; or DOVE Inc., P.O. Box 690267, Quincy, Mass., 02269.

Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden, is assisting the family with arrangements. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.milesfuneralhome.com.

(Information for this obituary is from the Cape Cod Times.)