In Memoriam: Mary Nash

Mary M. Nash
September 13, 1930 ~ September 17, 2022

Letter from Rev. Kent

Dearest friends and church family,

With a sad heart I am writing to report the death of Mary Nash, 92, who was for more than 40 years (spread into a couple of segments), a driving, tireless force of service and faith at Union Church. She was dear friend, potent leader, and Honorary Lifetime Deacon who served long and well in so many endeavors. Her dearest hope was not to linger and never be any burden to others, and so it was. She entered the wider life on Saturday, September 17, 2022, after only a very short stay in the hospital following intestinal surgery. She was surrounded by her children and the love of many, many of you, I know.

To say Mary had “spirit” was like saying a tornado had “wind.” One of nine children born on a farm in West Virginia, she learned both grit and grace and practiced both all her life. She was tireless and sometimes relentless in her service: she knitted caps for children in hospital, and later for anyone in need. She baked loaves and loaves of amazing bread that appeared on doorsteps, graced potlucks, and fed skinny preachers. She devoted herself to projects at Union Church like the annual rummage sale and Bazaar, raised money to replace the community room floor, and with Judy Drake spear-headed the idea and completion of the Memorial Garden (where the ashes of her beloved husband, David, were the first to be interred). She chaired the Deacons, the Associate Pastor Search team, played in the Hand Bell Choir, was a member of the Trustees, and cooked countless meals, cookies and pots of soup to feed the flock and heal the soul. And all this with raucous good humor, fierce loyalty, and a bracing independence.

By her own admission, she could be deaf-mule stubborn when she got the bit in her teeth, but she was also the first in line (well, maybe second…) to admit when she felt she was wrong and find a way to restore good footing. She was a devoted friend to so many in the community and her commitment and loyalty to those she took to her heart knew no bounds (even if it came with a piece of her mind from time to time). She made strangers into friends, and friends into family, drafting each one into the world of her active care and company.

Mary Musser first came to Berea to attend Berea College in 1948, but left after two years to marry David Nash, one of the few men to match her for intelligence, industry, inventiveness and energy. They located in West Virginia, but Mary’s mother insisted David promise to help Mary finish her degree. That she did, but it took a while. First she bore and raised 5 children on their farm outside of Alderson, WV: David Jr., Rachel, James, William (Bill), and John. We are holding all of them and their families in our hearts, knowing how much Mary cherished each and every one of them, the grandchildren, the nieces and nephews, all.

Thirty-five years later she returned to Berea (with husband in tow) at age 53 and graduated in the class of 1985. She subsequently took a position with residential life working with other church compatriots, Ruth Butwell, Gloria Van Winkle, Aloma Earles, Edith Hansen and many other life-long friends such as Dottie Blackburn, Jan Hamilton and so many others. Trips to the beach and card nights, convocation outings, and potlucks were always instigated and enlivened by her presence.

David’s untimely death from cancer in the 1990’s was a terrible loss. Mary retired from the college in 1996, but her community service never wavered, and her passion for all things green and growing could now be given her full attention. Mary kept a marvelous garden of both vegetables and beautiful plants of all kinds. And that was just her summer project. During the cold months of the year Mary wove baskets, knitted shawls, blankets, hats, most for service projects. She took Westervelt craft classes at the college, and taught hundreds of students how to knit over the years.

With some hints at failing health, though, she made the decision to move closer to family in Virginia. Her service habits never waned, though. Even in the last weeks of her life she baked 3 dozen cookies for the Police department, the Fire department Labor Day celebration, took vegetables to the food bank and completed the last of several hundred hats for homeless residents of the county which will be pinned to fence posts, free for the taking.

Practical, smart, and with a heart as big as a barn, Mary preached about a loving God without ever stepping into a pulpit. Her text was the love of others she had received, and her sermon was the life of service she never relented from. She was benevolent tyrant, fascinating conversationalist, wise mentor, enterprising servant, and loyal friend all rolled into one. I doubt the Good Lord made many from  her mold, and few cast so well. She indelibly shaped those who benefited from her life and work, and I am so fortunate to count myself among them.

In these coming weeks and months, please hold Mary’s family especially in your prayers. While no death at 92 can be called “unexpected,” such was Mary’s energy and spirit it seems inconceivable that such a force could be absent from the world. May God comfort them and all who notice such a hole in the world, and may her many gifts give them fire and passion to live their own lives of meaning and joy, as she would have hoped for them.

For Mary, I pray not for eternal rest. She was never very good at “rest,” saying her mother never taught her much about that, and I’m not sure she was ever much interested. (She hated the story of Mary and Martha from the scriptures!) No, for Mary may God grant reunion with all the love and friendship she sowed and grew in this life and has grieved the loss of, and may Christ’s resurrection power lift her to whatever new endeavor is hers for the working. If I know Mary, she’ll have a few notes for the Almighty, and a few new projects she’d like to see acted on.

So well, done, good and faithful, faithful servant. Enter into that joy, that light, and that peace, with the blessing and thanks of grateful witnesses to your graces. You were one of God’s best salty saints and we are humbled to have been so blessed.

With sorrow and in joy,

Many thanks to Harry Rice for links to the oral history interviews he recorded in conjunction with the Berea College Archives.

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A memorial service for Mary will be held at Abingdon Farris Funeral Home, 427 East Main Street, Abingdon, VA, on Friday, September 23 at 2:00 pm. The family also hope to plan a gathering here in Berea at a later time and to place some of her ashes in the memorial garden she made possible. We will, of course, keep everyone informed about when and how to participate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to any of the following:

• ElderSpirit Community, Elder Spirit Court, Abingdon, VA 24210
• Town of Abingdon, VA, Attn: Abingdon Police Department, 425 West Main Street, Abingdon, VA 24210
• Washington County Public Library, 205 Oak Hill Street, Abingdon, VA 24210
• Union Church, 200 Prospect Street, Berea, KY 40403. Click here to Donate Online.
• Frankford Presbyterian Church, 160 Market Street, Frankford, WV 24938