JOHN BREWSTER NASH

NASH, John Brewster Passed away peacefully on January 23rd - twenty-two days shy of Valentine's Day - which would have been his 85th birthday. Son of Marion Selden Nash and William Baldwin Nash of Milton and Duxbury, MA, he attended Milton Academy and graduated from Harvard College in 1953. True to his friendly and outgoing demeanor, John met Polly Parsons while waiting in line to give blood at the Massachusetts General Hospital. They married in 1958, and moved to Duxbury in 1959 where they spent 56 happy years and raised three children. While in college, John spent a summer in Greenland working for the US Weather Bureau, and in another, drove across country with friends in an old Model A roadster - pausing for seasonal work in the Kansas wheat fields to fund their adventure. Following graduation, he spent two years based in San Francisco as a LT JG aboard the USS Grady before returning to the Boston area to begin a career in commercial banking. He began with the New England Trust Co., which later became the New England Merchants National Bank. He later moved to the more local Rockland Trust Company where he took great pride in helping South Shore businesses grow and prosper. That many bank customers remained friends in his retirement years is testimony to his relationships within the communities he served. John was also a very engaged community volunteer. Among his numerous involvements, he served as vice president of the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, trustee of the Trustees of Reservations, and was a member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Duxbury. He was a lifelong steward of Duxbury Beach - serving as long-term trustee and director of the Duxbury Beach Reservation, as well as a long-term director of the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts. As much as they loved Duxbury and the South Shore, John and Polly also loved their time in Harpswell, ME. There, every available minute was happily consumed by restoration projects, work in the woods and fields, and sailing among the islands of Middle Bay. John's wife Polly predeceased him by six months. He is survived by his sister, Katharine Nash of Boston, his daughter Emily and husband Frank Hunnewell of Wellesley, his son Timothy and wife Jody Boardman Nash of Hingham, and his son Jonathan of Duxbury. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Eliza and Ben Hunnewell, Hannah, Sophie and Lucy Nash, and Isabel and Charlotte Nash. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Duxbury Beach Reservation Trust, Inc., P.O. Box 2593 Duxbury, MA 02332 or The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, 675 Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA 02360. A Celebration of John's Life will be held at the First Parish Church of Duxbury on Saturday, May 2 at 11:00 AM, with a reception to follow.