Justin Vadas was a laborer and pipe layer who worked for various companies in southern Maine and was known for his work ethic, but he also struggled with drug addiction.

“Justin was an extremely hard worker,” his mother, Charlotte Vadas, said Wednesday. “He was the kind of guy who worked 110 percent … way harder than he needed to. Employers would always say he was the best employee they ever had.”

Mr. Vadas died Monday at his apartment in Portland of an apparent drug overdose. He was 37.

His mother wept Wednesday as she spoke openly about her son’s struggle with drugs and the toll it had taken on their family.

He was described as a physically strong man almost 6 feet tall who had a giant smile that drew people in. Underneath it all, though, he was hurting, his mother said.

“You would look at him and think he was a big macho man … that he was strong,” she said. “He had low self-esteem.”

Mr. Vadas graduated from Gray-New Gloucester High School in 1997 and played on the basketball team.

He then went to work, first for A P Concrete Floors Inc. in Gray, and later Storey Brothers Inc. in Cumberland.

At Storey Brothers, he was a laborer and pipe layer, installing sewer mains, water mains and storm drains. He worked there for about six months. Former co-workers described him as a hard worker.

More recently, Mr. Vadas worked for Chase Excavating in Falmouth.

He lived in Portland and was married to Erica Vadas, who has an 11-year-old son. The couple had been married for 21/2 years. She, too, sobbed Wednesday as she described a man who could be so good to her and her son, but struggled with addiction.

“I loved the way he looked at me … the way I felt in his arms,” his wife said. “I loved being with him. When the good times were good, they were great.”

Those moments were always short-lived.

Mr. Vadas struggled with addiction for much of his adult life. He also suffered from depression. His mother said he had multiple stints in detox centers, but was never able to maintain his sobriety.

His last detox stay was at the former Mercy Recovery Center in Westbrook. Mr. Vadas then attended an outpatient program for a couple of months.

In his obituary, which appears in Thursday’s newspaper, his mother requested that donations be made to Serenity House, a residential program for alcohol and drug abuse treatment in Portland. Though her son did not live at Serenity House, after his stay at Mercy, he became friends with some sober men who did. His mother said he remained sober for almost a year.

“It was the first time I remember him having regular friends,” she said. “He would go there to see the guys and play cards and go out to do regular things.”

Mr. Vadas tried but failed to attend 12-step recovery meetings and struggled to maintain his sobriety. He was arrested several times and spent a few months in jail last fall. He was on probation when he died.

On Mother’s Day, he did not call, his mother said. She sensed he was not doing well.

Police came to her home at 10:30 p.m. Monday to tell her that her son had died.

In Mr. Vadas’ obituary, his mother wrote that he died “after a long struggle with addiction.” She hopes that his story might resonate with someone who is struggling.

“I want to educate people,” she said. “So many people think that drug addicts are the scum of the earth. They are people just like you and I. I’ve been taking pictures out and looking at albums. He was the happiest kid. I don’t know how this happened, but it happened and it does happen.”