Nate Nickerson built things to last.

He shaped several city programs and services for homeless residents, and led a Falmouth-based organization working to improve healthcare for people living in northern Haiti.

Nickerson, 69, died at his home last week after a brief illness, according to a post by Konbit Sante, which described its founding executive director as having made contributions “too numerous to capture.”

Friends and former co-workers say Nickerson was a quiet, passionate and kind man who was dedicated to public health programs. They say his work in Portland and beyond — including several trips to Haiti — has left a longstanding impact on people he served.

Nickerson, who grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts, is survived by his wife, Nancy, two adult daughters and three grandchildren. He lived in Portland with his wife, who said his death was a shock. She described him as a loving father who enjoyed spending time outdoors with his family.

Nickerson was also handy: He helped repair wells, solar panels and medical equipment in Haiti and enjoyed building canoes in his spare time.

He loved music and played the upright bass with a group called the Vigilantes, which plays at Portland’s annual vigil to honor homeless people who have died.

Nickerson developed a passion for helping others early in life while growing up with a brother who had a neurodegenerative disease, his wife said.

“He was getting lessons early on in taking care of people and watching out for the voiceless and the vulnerable,” Nancy Nickerson said. “And that was what he did his whole life.”

PORTLAND HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS

Nickerson earned national recognition for designing a citywide healthcare program for homeless residents. People who worked with him in Portland say he was a passionate visionary who implemented longstanding programs. He also helped create the city’s annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil.

“He was really large when it came to the effect of the work he did, but he was always so unassuming and quietly making things happen behind the scenes,” said Donna Yellen, who works at the nonprofit organization Preble Street.

Yellen said she first met Nickerson when she joined Preble Street in 1994. She said she was struck by his casual demeanor, ponytail and backpack he carried to deliver healthcare services on the street.

Nickerson told a Portland Press Herald reporter in 1993 that he studied nursing at the University of Southern Maine after years working for homeless shelters in Boston — where he met his wife, who was employed as a nurse at the Pine Street Inn shelter.

“I get satisfaction from working with people involved in life struggles,” he said at the time, according to a Nov. 26, 1993, edition of the Press Herald. “They have humanity. They have courage. They are colorful. (For the homeless) just to survive is remarkable, and many do it with great dignity.”

Dr. Ann Lemire, a physician and former medical director at the Portland public health clinic, said Nickerson had a hand in creating and expanding several of the city’s clinics in the 1990s. She said he was also strong advocate for programs centered around needle exchanges and treatment for HIV.

“He was a good organizer,” Lemire said. “If he saw an opportunity to create something that people needed, he did that.”

PARTNERSHIP IN HAITI

After earning his doctoral degree in international public health, Nickerson began serving as executive director of Konbit Sante. The organization, founded in 2001, supports healthcare systems in Cap-Haitien, the second-largest city in Haiti and a sister city to Portland.

Perry Newman, who now serves as the organization’s executive director, said Nickerson took more than 100 trips to the country. He said they stayed in touch nearly every day after Nickerson retired, because he wanted the organization to continue improving.

Eva Lathrop, president of the organization’s board of directors, said Nickerson was proficient in Haitian Creole and insisted on speaking it during every interaction with people in the community.

She said Nickerson was a “public health hero,” but he wouldn’t accept that title.

“He sought no attention, no prizes, no awards,” Lathrop said. “His preference was not to be particularly visible.”

She said Nickerson leaves behind strong programs and life-changing impacts on the people he worked with.

“He was just a fantastic mentor,” Lathrop said. “I think any of us who were lucky enough to be in his orbit have been changed by that.”

Staff Writer Drew Johnson contributed to this story.