A man known as an institution in Gorham died unexpectedly at 56 last week.

Felgar C. Nicely owned Nicely’s Market, a landmark on Route 25 in West Gorham, for 20 years. Kyle Nicely, his son, said that his father, who voted Nov. 7, died from a heart attack the next day.

Nicely built the store in Gorham. He and his wife Brenda relocated the family business from Brighton Avenue in Portland. Their son said he will continue the business.

Felgar Nicely liked meeting people, who went into the store, and he was widely known. “He was an institution in this town,” said Gorham Police Chief Ron Shepard.

A fiberglass, Black Angus bull on top of the store served as a landmark for those giving directions to travelers. The bull had previously been on the Portland store.

On Halloween in 2001, pranksters stole the bull, which was found at Bonny Eagle Middle School. The bull sustained several cracks and Nicely took the bull to an auto body shop for plastic surgery. Parents of the pranksters paid for damages to the bull and Nicely didn’t press charges.

The bull was created for Nicely’s dad, Charles Nicely. Before it made the transition to the Gorham store, the bull was stored in his the family’s back yard on Mighty Street in Gorham. Kyle said the bull filled with water and sank when a hurricane blew it into the swimming pool.

Kyle said his dad instilled the importance of good values.

“You earned your allowance,” he said about his youth. “You did your chores.”

He said his dad liked golfing, fishing and hunting. “He was an outdoorsman,” Kyle Nicely said.

His dad enjoyed going to a hunting camp at Sugarloaf, where “he did all the cooking.”

When his sons, Kyle and Paul, were growing up, Nicely enjoyed watching them play sports and going to Beech Ridge Speedway.

Felgar Nicely grew up on Mighty Street and attended Gorham schools, but his family moved to Falmouth when he was a senior. He graduated from Falmouth High School and then earned a degree in public communications at Boston University.

He began his career as an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life, and was promoted to management. But Nicely and wife bought back the family business, which left the family when his father died at 50.

Kyle Nicely said his dad was a “mold” of his own.

“Everyone in town knew him,” he said.

A memorial service was held Nov. 12 at the Portland Faith Center in Gorham. Burial was at the North Street Cemetery.