Nina Close

1922 - 2015

(News story) Nina O. Close, a U.S. citizen proud of her British heritage who received an award at Buckingham Palace for her work in bringing together others of similar background, died Sept. 13 in Liberty Residence II, Wadsworth, Ohio. She was 93.

She'd been in failing health, her daughter, Kathryn, said. Mrs. Close, formerly of West Toledo and Sylvania, moved to Wadsworth in 1992.

Mrs. Close was a former president in Toledo of the Sir James M. Barrie chapter of Daughters of the British Empire, a founder of the Heather and Rose chapter in Wadsworth, and was a former national president.

"Few have rivaled her dedication and commitment to the DBE with such fierce passion," the national organization said on Facebook in announcing her death.

In 1995, Mrs. Close was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire.

"Everybody was very happy and very enthusiastic about it," said Barbara Zimmerman, 94, a former Barrie chapter president.

Mrs. Close could have chosen to receive the honor at the embassy in Washington. She chose to go to Buckingham Palace. Others were getting awards that day too, her daughter, Kathryn, said. Still, in that large, ornate reception room, she was called forward, and Prince Charles presented her the decoration, a silver sterling pin on a ribbon.

"She was overwhelmed," her daughter said. "She thought it was amazing and was quite moved by it and felt very honored by it. She felt very privileged and found it hard to believe that she was in Buckingham Palace."

There was time for a brief chat, in which the prince asked whether she'd traveled just for the honor.

"She got to shake his hand, and I believe she curtsied in front of him," her daughter said.

Four years earlier, with Queen Elizabeth II scheduled to tour the United States, Mrs. Close received a heavy white engraved invitation with gold ER II crest. "The British ambassador is commanded by the Queen to invite ... ," it read.

Mrs. Close accepted that invitation to a semiformal tea party in the garden of the British Embassy in Washington. A crush of aggressive guests kept Mrs. Close from shaking the queen's hand. But, Mrs. Close told The Blade, "I swear she looked at me."

She was a natural leader, her daughter said, and, during Mrs. Close's national presidency, she visited local chapters around the United States.

She was born July 1, 1922, in Flackwell Heath, Bucks, England, to Elizabeth and Arthur Chilton. She grew up in Berkshire. With a military base nearby, during World War II "a lot of the girls met some of the soldiers," her daughter said. She met Alvin Ralph Close of Toledo, who asked whether she'd like to come to the states after the war. She said yes, arrived May 6, 1946, and the pair were married in Toledo on May 11.

She was a longtime member of Collingwood Presbyterian Church. She had secretarial jobs through the years, including at the church and at the University of Toledo.

Her husband died Jan. 15, 1981.

Surviving are her daughter, Kathryn Horvath; son, Geoffrey Close; four granddaughters, and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be scheduled later, her family said. Arrangements were by the Cox Funeral Home, Wadsworth. The family suggests tributes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis or a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Blade Staff Writer Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.