Hedcut portrait from the front page of The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 1991.

 I have written this unconventional obituary to thank the people who have made or contributed to the charmed and interesting life I have led. I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1928, in the middle of the Depression. My loving parents were Helen and Monroe Nash. My father was the first Certified Public Accountant in a city that didn’t quite know what one was, so our early days were a struggle. I had two loving sisters, Betsy and Eugenia. My brother Charlie died in World War II, as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

 I attended Wilson High School in Portsmouth and graduated from Augusta Military Academy, near Staunton. From there, I enlisted in the army and was sent to occupied Japan. Two years in the Army made me eligible for the GI Bill, and I attended UVA. I’m grateful to the University for the opportunities it has continued to provide throughout my life.

 My first real job was with Brittingham Food Brokerage. I bear a debt of gratitude to Mr. Brittingham, who not only taught me about business but taught me the right way to do business. My next job was with a weekly magazine called “The Episcopalian Church News” in Richmond. In my work there, for Maurice Bennett, I traveled to big cities, staying at big hotels and meeting important people while selling advertising. I went on to be a successful circulation manager. I have untold thanks to Mr. Bennett for showing me the world beyond Hampton Roads and bringing me to Richmond, where I met my first wife, Sis, who was teaching school there. Sis’s proper name was Elsie Cary Nelms. Originally from Newport News, she was May Queen and head of the Honor Committee at Mary Baldwin College. Sis was beautiful inside and out. Everyone who met her loved her. After nearly fifty years of marriage, she died in 2003 of cancer.

I want to thank some friends who stood by me in the interval following Sis’s death: my Wednesday lunch group, including Billy Walker and Linwood Beckner, and my Friday lunch group, originally including Dawson Taylor, Tom Broyles, Andy Dickinson, Ed Royster, Bud Syme, Paulus Haynsworth, Cabell Birdsong, Phil Denman, Ben Mason, and Watt Shields. Thanks to Jack Apperson and Martha Hearn; and to Bev King, in Fredericksburg, for love and companionship. Thanks also to my godson, Bill Overman.

 Thanks also to Guillermo and Maria, for many years of help and kindness.

 Now, let me tell you about my children, Charles Monroe, Elizabeth Cary (Liza), and James Nelms Nash.

 Charlie, my oldest, had a very successful career as a stockbroker—so successful that he retired early. He is happily married to Tracey (Beeb) Stiles and has a stepson, Tony; and a beautiful daughter Nicole, who has twin boys.

 Daughter Liza Nash Taylor is a successful historical novelist. She lives near Charlottesville with her husband Harrison (Rocky). She has two stepsons, William and Thomas; and a beautiful daughter, Annabel. 

 James (Jimmy) Nash has three daughters with his beautiful wife, Cindy. Katie, the eldest, has two sons, Levi and Jude, with her husband, Luke Llewellyn. His second daughter Betsy works for an international relief organization in Bangladesh. Jimmy's youngest daughter Liza is a doctor of audiology and recently married Josh Hofacker.

 I am now very happily married to Stephanie Hemingway, a very good-looking widow whom I have known for many years. Stephanie is a wonderful wife, keeping me straight while taking care of me in my old age. We both love and enjoy our little dog, Blossom.

 The Nash family would like to thank Dr. Niv Horev, Suncrest Hospice nurses Meg and Drew, and the kind nurses from Brightstar Nursing. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in honor of Rody.

  The burial will be private and a memorial service will be held on Tuesday December 10, 2024 at 11:00 am in Galilee Episcopal Church. Online condolences may be made to the family at hdoliver.com. 

The service will be livestreamed at www.www.galileechurch.net.