Kay Nish

Family Visitation: The family will greet friends on Monday, October 13, 2025, at the Lamb Funeral Home in Massena from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial: Will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. and are limited to immediate and extended families only. With burial following in the Victoria Township Cemetery. Father Phillip Bempong will officiate the service. The Lamb Funeral Home in Massena is in charge of the professional arrangements. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfusneralhomes.com.

Memorials: May be directed to the Kay Nish Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.

On October 7, 2025, Kay R. (DeVore) Nish passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Blair, Nebraska. The world lost not only an irreplaceable soul, but the best mother one could have ever wished for.

Kay was born in Greenfield, Iowa, on July 1. She never wanted to share her birth year. Instead, she would flash a grin every birthday and declare she was turning 29. No one would even contemplate adding another candle. Her parents were Roy Eugene and Phyllis Jean (Eblen) DeVore. Her formative years were spent in Cumberland, Iowa. She graduated from Cumberland-Massena High School with the class of 1971.

On September 5, 1981, she was united in marriage to William (Bill) J.J. Nish in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The couple was blessed with three children: Ann, Sean, and Kaitlin. During their forty-four years of marriage, they lived in Omaha and Blair, Nebraska.

Floral design was Kay’s lifelong passion and artistic medium of choice. She held various positions in the field, including laborer and manager at a variety of boutiques and grocery stores. Eventually, she began teaching floral design at Metropolitan Community College, where she inspired others with her love and passion for flowers. After the birth of her second child, she began a new career as a stay-at-home mother. She put her all into being a wonderful and thoughtful parent.

Outside of floral design and motherhood, Kay found joy in a wide variety of hobbies and collections. One of her favorite pastimes was relaxing on her screened-in porch with family and friends. She would often smile and ask someone taller to pull the chain to turn the fan on or off. On cool evenings, she loved watering her flowers or pulling weeds from her flower beds, finding peace in those quiet moments.

She also had a deep love for dogs and shared a special bond with each one she welcomed into her home. Whether playing with them in the yard, sneaking them treats or a small cracker, or simply sitting with them by her side on the couch or in the chair on the porch, she found endless joy in their companionship. She especially loved spending time with her most recent dogs, Sophie and Bella.

Holidays were more than just a season for Kay. She found comfort in baking cookies, arranging floral decorations, and ensuring her home sparkled with the magic of the holidays. Her other passions included taking her children to the zoo, traveling, attending concerts, and, above all, spending time with her family.

Kay was preceded in death by her daughter, Ann Nish; her parents, Roy and Phyllis DeVore; her mother- and father-in-law, Arlyne and John Nish; and her sister and brother-in-law, Carol and Don (Whitey) Fletcher.

Kay will be deeply missed by her husband, William (Bill) Nish; her children, Sean and Kaitlin Nish; her sister and brother-in-law, Jackye and Mark McAlister; her nephew and niece, Mark and Melissa McAlister, and Melissa’s daughter, Leyla; her niece Jamie Hahn, her husband Tim, and their children, Derek and Kyler; her niece Jana (Fletcher) Rayburn and her husband, Landon Rayburn; her nephew Matt Fletcher, his wife Jennifer, and their children, Ali, Ryan, and Owen; her sister-in-law, Debra Gard, and her children, Chrystine and Mat Kry; as well as many other friends and family, and her beloved dogs, Bella and Sophie.