In the hours after Timothy Conley Jr. died on Oct. 31, his organs were used to save four lives.

Thanks to Conley, a 51-year-old man received a life-saving heart transplant. A 52-year-old woman received Conley’s liver. A 53-year-old man got his pancreas and a kidney, and a woman in her 60s got his other kidney.

“The one thing that has given me hope is that Timmy’s heart is still beating,” said Conley’s mother, Sue Ellen Monaghan. “Those people are wonderful. …He used to say to me, ‘Why am I here?’ He struggled to figure out his plan in life. This is why he was here.”

Conley, a 2008 graduate of Deering High School, died from complications of a brain injury. He was 25.

Conley worked at The Home Depot on Riverside Street in Portland, where he was well-liked and respected by his co-workers. His family said Conley hit his head at work on Oct. 25. Monaghan said her son went to bed and didn’t wake up the following morning. He was rushed to Maine Medical Center.

Conley was remembered this week as a loyal friend who was always there for his family.

At Deering, Conley was a popular student and a standout on the school’s football, basketball and lacrosse teams. Monaghan said he was a natural athlete, a fierce competitor, and a leader on and off the field.

She said he had attention deficit disorder and could be impulsive at times.

“It was a strength of his. It made him who he was,” his mother said. “Once in high school, he got into a fight in the cafeteria because someone was making fun of the functional life students. He was a defender of many. I’ve gotten notes from people on Facebook that I didn’t know saying, ‘Timmy stuck up for me in middle school,’ and ‘Timmy was my bodyguard.’ He would come home and tell me everything. It really bothered him when bullies picked on people. He didn’t put up with that.”

Conley had lived in Portland with his grandparents for the past two years. Monaghan talked about her son’s devotion to family and the bond that held them close for so many years. She said he was an only child, though he had a half sister and many cousins who were like siblings to him.

“The number one thing he cared most about was being with his family,” his mother said, recalling the last time she saw him. “Timmy was the guy (who) the minute you saw him, he would go up to you and give you a big hug. The last time I saw Timmy, he gave me a great hug.”

An aunt, Nancy Joy of Portland, talked about Conley’s connection to her family. She said he did everything with them.

“There’s this enmeshment with our family. Timmy would bounce around to the family who had the best dinner that night,” she said, chuckling. “I’ll miss his big hugs. I’ll miss his positive energy and big hugs.”

Conley enjoyed music and dancing. He also loved camping and fishing at Sebago Lake and in Brookton.

Conley took classes at Southern Maine Community College for a couple of years but didn’t graduate. His mother said he wasn’t sure which career path to choose.

Conley enjoyed his work at The Home Depot, but was ready for a new experience.

On Tuesday, the day before his obituary appeared in the Portland Press Herald, he had been scheduled to interview for a job as a deckhand aboard a merchant marine tug boat based out of New York City. He had some experience working on lobster boats.

His mother said he was excited for the new opportunity.”He was very close to getting his dream job. He was so close to making it,” his mother said.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Our Lady of Hope Parish (Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church) on Stevens Avenue in Portland.