Durwin Hunter Nickerson – age 65, of Hebron (aka Nick), Yarmouth County passed away on May 4, 2018 after a brief fight with cancer. Durwin was the son of Lyman and Phylis Nickerson formally of Deerfield. He is survived by his wife, Joan(Grant) Nickerson; 4 step children, David Upton, John (Polly) Upton, Andy Upton and Carrie (Chris) Cushing, 12 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter; and brother, Ronson (Joanne). Born in Deerfield N.S. in 1952, Durwin moved to the Boston area in 1957 with his family. In 1973, Nick returned home to Nova Scotia to follow a dream and signed onboard schooner BLUENOSE II as crew while visiting Yarmouth. For the next 30 years Nick worked onboard many of the Yarmouth ferries in including; both MV BLUENOSE ferries, MARINE EVANGELINE, MARINE CRUISER, THE CAT within the engineering ranks. Having a life long passion for the sea, he was an avid collector of both artifacts, research and preservation of our marine related history. After being engaged in research for a San Diego couple relating to some early crew of BLUENOSE II, having scoured available archives it became evident there was no single source of information relating to records of crew. In 2008, Nick launched the BLUENOSE II CREW REGISTRY Initiative campaign to capture 50 years of crew history before details vanished with time. BLUENOSE II held a special place in Nick's heart that led to developing the BLUENOSE CREW ASSOCIATION. Having a mission statement to foster current and alumni crew connections with the preservation of the BLUENOSE Legacy, the association has 160 members. During 2017, the mission expanded to develop and launch the 'Bluenose Crew Association -Scholarship for Marine Studies', aimed to assist crew who wish to pursue a career with in the marine trades. Nick's contributions toward fostering crew relations, have been recognized by Captain Watson and Bluenose II Operations, The Board of the Lunenburg Marine Museum Society and the Province of Nova Scotia. In 2017 he was able to take his family out on a special sailing of the Bluenose II which he was especially proud of. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sweeny’s Funeral Home and Crematorium, Yarmouth. Cremation has taken place and a celebration of Nicks life will be held Saturday May 12th, 2018 at 1 P.M. from Sweeny’s Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. A.D. “Bill” Newell officiating. Interment will be at a later date. Donations in memory may be made to the Yarmouth Palliative Care or the Tri County V.O.N. On-line condolences may be sent to: sweenysfh@eastlink.ca or you may sign the guestbook on-line at: www.sweeneysfuneralhome.net

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