Settimo Trivellin first came to Portland as an Italian sailor after World War II. He was a chief petty officer at a time when Italian submarines were visiting ports in the United States as part of a collaboration between the two countries.

In Portland, Mr. Trivellin, a native of Venice, and a friend were walking along the street when Carmela Casale's ears perked up at the sound of her native tongue. She invited the two men over for dinner and Mr. Trivellin met her daughter, Anna, whom he married in 1945.

It was the beginning of a long marriage and an American life filled with honest work and simple pleasures. Mr. Trivellin died Wednesday at age 90. He leaves his loved ones with memories of his endearing smile, his engaging manner and kind heart.

"He was always smiling," said his daughter, Maria Trivellin of Portland. "He would do anything for anybody, I don't remember him ever turning anybody away."

The couple lived in Portland and raised Maria in the city. Mr. Trivellin worked as a carpenter and did work for various companies, including finish carpentry, cabinet-making and installing suspended ceilings. He was a man who took pride in his work and could fix anything.

Mr. Trivellin appeared deceptively youthful for his age. Strong from years of physical work, he also had a sturdy frame and a face largely unlined apart from the crinkles around his hazel eyes. Maria Trivellin credited her mother's cooking for helping keep her father in such good shape. Mr. Trivellin, meanwhile, always thought his wife's cooking was the best.

He found pleasure in the peonies and rosebushes he grew around the house, playing bocce on the artificial turf at the Italian Heritage Center and celebrating birthdays with the members of his mall walking group.

Whether old or young, people were delighted to be with Mr. Trivellin and he with them.

Neighborhood children loved to visit Mr. Trivellin. He would pick them up, carry them around, get on the floor to be on their level and make faces -- "whatever you do, depending on the age of the kid, to make them happy," Maria Trivellin said.

Doctors were charmed when he greeted them with: "How are YOU today?"

Mr. Trivellin had narrowly escaped danger several times during the war and carried a sense of gratitude throughout his life.

"He still felt grateful and blessed, that somebody was watching over him," his daughter said. "I think it was still amazing to him that he was able to go through those experiences and get through it and have a life after that."