1912 – 1983 (October 23)
Thomas Edward Nash was born September 9, 1912 in Chicago, Illinois to Thomas Nash and Barbara Cullen. He was baptized September 15, 1912 at Good Counsel Church, Chicago, and was confirmed on October 11, 1924 at St. Rita Church, Chicago. After graduation in 1931 from St. Rita High School, he undertook pre-law studies at DePaul University, Chicago, from 1931 to 1935, then worked for a short time as a bank teller. He was received into the novitiate on December 10, 1936, and professed simple vows on December 11, 1937, and solemn vows on December 11, 1940. He completed his undergraduate college education at Villanova College, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and earned a B. A. in 1940. He pursued theological studies at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., from 1940 to 1944, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1943. He received an M.A. in Sociology from Catholic University of America, Washington, in 1944.
Father Nash was assigned in 1944 to teach at St. Rita High School, Chicago. When Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago, opened its doors in 1951, Father Nash became a member of its first faculty. In 1958 he was appointed associate pastor at St. Matthew Parish, Flint, Michigan. Two years later, in 1960, he returned to teaching at Mendel Catholic High School. From 1961 to 1967 he taught at Cascia Hall School, Tulsa, Oklahoma. He again returned in 1967 to Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago, where he taught until 1971.
Father Nash was assigned in 1971 to St. Augustine Seminary, Holland, Michigan, where he was prior of the Augustinian community. He served as prior at St. Monica Monastery, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, from 1972 to 1979. Declining health caused him to be assigned to St. Rita Monastery, Chicago, where, after a lengthy struggle with cancer, he died October 23, 1983.
Father Nash was known for his wit and his dedicated love for God and God’s people. He was both poet and priest, and shared his heart, his talents and his love of God with many people. A diocesan priest friend, who knew him from their days in the seminary said, “Pleasant, good natured, friendly, already then a seminarian studying for the priesthood, Tom showed that one could really enjoy life and still walk in the footsteps of the Lord. We called him “Darbie” because he always had his hair combed and wore a clean shirt every day, along with a sharp crease in his trousers. The name stayed with him until his death which came after a long, painful illness.”
He is buried in the Augustinian plot at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois.
