Elizabeth A. Nay

Obituary of Elizabeth A. Nay
Following a very brief illness, Elizabeth Ann Nay of North Liberty, IA passed away on October 24, 2025 with her mother and sister by her side.
Beth (family only nickname) entered the world with barely a whimper on February 12, 1979. We discovered very quickly that this was not an indication of what was to come – she was born with fiery red hair and a temperament to match. She loved deeply and was fiercely protective of the critters and humans she loved, in that order. Her stubbornness reared its head to the very end and even in the weakness that came with being ravaged by cancer, she had a middle finger that continued to function way too well when her sister requested cooperation in her care. Even though Beth experienced significant ups and downs in her life that knocked her down for a while, she always managed to pick herself up and move on with a new resolve. Her life was defined by kindness and quiet strength. She will be missed.
Liz (nickname for everyone else) graduated from La James School of Massage Therapy, and then pursued further education in medical assisting at Kaplan University. She was employed by the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, working first in the Clinical Cancer Center and then the Department of Orthopedics. A good friend and coworker shared her thoughts about Liz in the workplace: "One thing I loved about working with her is she always stood up for the "underdog" patient she made sure they felt the same as everyone else and often gave them their voice and advocated for those patients. She loved hard and truly cared for everyone. She just always had a tough outer shell that unfortunately not everyone was able to crack and see the true great person she was."
Beth is survived by her grandmother, Laverne Jacobsmeier, her father and stepmother, Bob and Cheryl Nay, her mother and stepfather, Rose and Rich Schmidt, her sister, Jennifer Edwards, her nephew, Kobi Russom, her niece Emeral Greene and her children Serenity, Zion and Kingston, many aunts, uncles, cousins, her friend, Adrian Card, her dog, Mellow (entrusted by Beth to a close friend and fellow dog lover), and her cats Felix, Domino and Riley.
She was preceded in death by her longtime beloved canine companion, Spartan, her nephew Quincy Russom, grandparents Bernard Jacobsmeier, Ralph Nay, June and Wilmer Schmidt, Ann Mayer, and Mildred Dawson, uncles Danny Joe Fedler, David Plempel, and John Schmidt, aunts Sheri Kennell and Patty Plempel, and cousin Kim Maxie.
We will celebrate Beth's life on Saturday, November 1 at Gay and Ciha Funeral home, 2720 Muscatine Avenue, Iowa City, IA. Guests will be greeted from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. followed by a time of prayer and reflection lead by The Reverend Jane Stewart.
A pizza party will conclude the celebration.
Our family would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the UIHC medical care providers for your hard work and to our family and friends for your incredible show of support. It is your prayers, your expressions of love and concern that continue to lift us up. We couldn't do this without you. With love from us to you – THANK YOU!