Tribute to my Uncle Terry

My Uncle Terry looked the same to me when I was 6 as when I last saw him when I was 33. I think of him as a kind-hearted, gentle soul. I remember walking to visit my grandma in her apartment in Columbiana as a child. I was very young and I couldn't figure out how to get in the door because there was a security buzz to let me in. He came down and found a very frightened little girl, let me in, comforted me and took me up to my grandma's apartment.

Several years later, I visited him at his home in California. He took me and my two girlfriends out to dinner and opened his home to us. He was a generous man. I wish I knew more of him. I will miss him.

Please pray for his wife, Betty (also a very generous person) and my mom and the rest of our family as they mourn his loss. Below you will find his obituary. Sadly, I learned more about him through the obit than knowing him personally.

"TERRY WILLIAM NASH age 81, died on Sunday, August 12, 2007, at home and surrounded by his loving family. Terry was born in Canton, Ohio on May 11, 1926. He has lived in Riverside for the past 27 years. He is survived by his devoted wife of 19 years, Betty Ewalt Nash; a brother, Robert Usborn Nash; a sister, Patricia Nash Couchenour; seven children; eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Terry grew up in Damascus, Ohio, the son of entrepreneur Leonard William Nash, and Elizabeth Watkins Nash. He attended classes at Mount Union College and Case Institute of Technology, before serving in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. During his military service, Terry earned an Army of Occupation Medal (Japan), an Asiatic Theater Ribbon with one Bronze Battle Star, a Victory Medal, a Philippine Liberation Ribbon with One Bronze Battle Star and a Good Conduct Medal. After, he became a draftsman for his family's steel rolling mill company, the L.W. Nash Company of East Palestine, Ohio. He worked in most every facet of the company, including purchasing, operations, marketing and production, eventually being elected President in 1960. Terry negotiated the sale of L.W. Nash Company to The Aluminum Company of America in 1968 and served as President until 1978. During those years, in addition to running one of the most innovative rolling mill and special machinery shops in the country, with 250 employees and contracts all over the world, Terry also played an important leadership role in his local community, serving as a Scout Master, Director of the First National Bank in East Palestine, Member of the East Palestine School Board and President of the East Palestine Park and Recreation Board. Along with his brother, Terry established the Nash Foundation in honor of his father, to provide resources for community improvements in East Palestine. Terry relocated to Riverside in 1978 to serve as Senior Vice President of Hunter Engineering Company, a producer of rolling mills and other heavy machinery. In the mid 1980s, Terry earned a real estate broker's license, eventually founding his own realty company in 1989, Visual Choice Realtors, using video in home sales, a completely novel concept for the time. He maintained his commitment to service through dedicated work in the Riverside Exchange Club, a philanthropic organization that founded the Child Abuse Prevention Center. He served the Club for many years in various roles, including on the board of directors. Terry was a member of Canyon Crest Country Club and an avid golfer, along with his wife Betty. He also enjoyed scrabble, his serene backyard Koi pond and traveling. He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery on Thursday, August 16. Family and friends are invited to a Memorial Service on Friday, September 7, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. at the Calvary Presbyterian Church at 4495 Magnolia Avenue in Riverside. A Celebration of Life will follow at Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside. In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting memorial donations to the Riverside Exchange Club Charitable Foundation: P.O. Box 20074, Riverside, CA, 92516."