Born in Halifax, he was a son of the late Frederick Burnette and Mary Gertrude (Power) Nickerson. After a career in the CAF, Fred enjoyed a long and busy retirement. Like his father, his lifelong love of wood working saw him repairing and maintaining many of Halifax's tour boats over the past 25 years. Fred and Elizabeth loved spending time with their four grandchildren. Memories of long weekends with their grandparents over the past 15 years at Clam Harbour Beach, White Point, Mountain Gap Inn and Oak Island will be cherished forever. The children could not have a more attentive or loving grandfather. Active and healthy his whole life, Fred successfully battled skin cancer recently and worked tirelessly with the support of Elizabeth to recover from a stroke in January of this year.